Language can be precise, specific and to the point, or it can me imprecise, vague and even confusing. There are times when we want to be precise but there are also circumstances in which imprecise language is just what we need.
In spoken English, we often use a lot of vague words. We can use the word things, for example, to refer to objects, concepts, facts and ideas.
Don’t forget to bring all your things with you.
There are a few things we must consider.
The worst thing about this wet weather is all the wet footprints on the floor.
You said you had some things you wanted to tell me about.
In every case, we need to look at the context (the other words in the sentence or even the whole paragraph) to determine the meaning of the word thing.
Whereas thing is countable, for uncountable objects or abstract concepts we can use stuff in much the same way.
Are you leaving all that stuff behind?
I remember a lot of stuff from my college days.
Again, we find the interpretation of stuff from the context.
We also have lots of words and expressions related to vagueness in quantity. For time:
I will do it sometime.
Come and see me any time next week.
For volume:
Could I have a bit more soup please?
Do you speak English? Just a little.
There are many more: rather, slightly, approximately, pretty (a different meaning from attractive appearance), considerably, generous(ly).
All of these words and phrases are nuanced, and can be used in different ways and to convey different sentiments depending on – yes, you guessed it – context and subject matter. The best way to learn how to use imprecise language well is to listen and read widely, but also to practise and to ask the people around you for feedback on your English. I know that might seem scary but it’s very effective!
So why might we want to use imprecise language? Well, we often want to avoid being too direct because that may sound impolite. If someone offers us some cake, we could say simply, ‘yes please,’ or we could say, ‘yes please, just a little.’ This may not be because we only want a small piece of cake. We are likely trying to be very polite and not seem greedy! Also, we may really not know a quantity and so be unable to speak more specifically, or we may just be in a relaxed and casual situation that does not call for precision.
On the other hand, of course, certain situations require us to be rigorously precise! In academic, professional and business situations, we need to know how to use correct and precise language so we are sure we are saying exactly what we mean, and there can be no misunderstanding. Just remember that you can use a little vague or imprecise language (see what I did there?!) when you are engaging in small talk in those situations. Let’s see how that would work, just for fun:
We would like to order 300 items and we need them delivered before 10th October. Oh, yes, I would like some tea, thanks, whenever you are ready.
