186 – Analytical language 1: sentences
There have been changes in the use of land in the city of Moorabbin.
or
There have been changes in the landscape in the city of Moorabbin.
Abstract processes are easy to confuse with concrete participants:
These differing interest groups were brought to a head by the question
of compensation for the loss of land.
What are ‘differing interest groups’? We might say:
The differences between these interest groups were brought to a head by
the question of compensation for the loss of land.
or
These differing interest groups clashed over the question of
compensation for loss of land.
Differences can be brought to a head; or interest groups can clash.
It is not easy to lay down general rules about what is abstract
and what is concrete, or about which nouns can be coupled with
which verbs. The borderlines between abstract and concrete nouns
can be difficult to discern and may vary with the discipline being
studied. If you are in doubt, it is probably safer to err on the side
of concreteness in your choice of both participants and processes.
In any case, check with a good dictionary, in particular a specialist
dictionary in the relevant discipline.