Difference Between Abstract Sentence and Specific Sentence

There are two types of sentence: abstract sentence and specific sentence. An abstract sentence describes something in abstract. An abstract sentence is less rigor in what the sentence means, which can be interpreted in different way. An abstract sentence can be made concrete in different ways. In contrast, a specific sentence is a sentence with details. A specific is rigor and specific in what it means. It uses direct terms that often refers to physical/real objects. There are less room in interpret it in different ways. The hearer of the specific sentence has high degree of being on the same page with the speaker.

Let’s give an example. An abstract sentence is

Exercise is healthy.

An specific sentence is

Running for 30 minutes every day in the morning makes a person having normal B|MI value.

In the abstract sentence, the “exercise” could mean different things to different hearer. It could be swimming, running, push ups and more. “Healthy” could be mental health, physical health and some other things. In the specific sentence, it clear what it means to run for 30 minutes every day in the morning. the outcome is also specific in refering to BMI value being normal.

The abstract sentence is quick and easy to be expressed by the speaker, and it is easy and quick to be received by the hearer. Though the abstract sentences have a potential to misinterpret, they are effective when the speaker and hearer have the same context, i.e the hearer and the speaker have the same understanding on the abstract sentence. The abstract sentences are usually how high level discussion goes. for example, when a protest is host with a speaker who addresses many protestors. The speaker speaks in abstract sentence like “we demand justice”. It is quick to be undertood by the hearer. But when the sentence is thought carefully, the meaning is not clear unless the hearer is in the specific situation and have the same context. Otherwise, the hearer can easily misinterpret it.

The specific sentence is usually long and slow to be expressed by the speaker. The speaker has more mental work on expressing it, and the hearer has more mental work to parse the meaning. The sentence in what it means, and the hearer does not need to know the context to understand. When the speaker and the hearer are not from the same community, the specific sentence avoids misunderstanding.