Basic vs. fundamental

[Isabelle]

Test No. incompl/inter-12 "At the Restaurant", question 1

The food here is quite good although the menu is quite ..........

(a) elementary
(b) basic
(c) easy
(d) fundamental

Test No. incompl/inter-12 "At the Restaurant", answer 1

The food here is quite good although the menu is quite basic.

Correct answer: (b) basic

Your answer was: incorrect
The food here is quite good although the menu is quite fundamental.
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what is basic?

Isabelle

[Torsten]

The restaurant does good food but the choice is very limited.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[wanglaoshan]

[Janzar]

Hi there...

i would like also ask what?s the main difference between "basic" and "elementary". Is really "elementary" not suitable in this case?

thanks a lot for explanation ...

jan

[Pond969]

In many situations, 'basic' and 'elementary' can be used synonymously, but in the example above only 'basic' would commonly be used by native English speakers. The meaning, when specifically relating to the choices on the menu, is that the available food is well-known, common, home-style cooking as opposed to being comprised exotic, uncommon, or unusual dishes. It doesn't neccessarily mean that the skill or complexity of the dishes is less than you might find in other restaurants, but this would neccessarily be implied if one described the menu as 'elementary.'

[Janzar]

Many thanks for explanation.

best regards,

Jan

[Torsten]

Hi Jan, your sentence would sound better if you put a word before 'explanation':

Many thanks for your explanation.
Many thanks for the explanation.
Many thanks for this explanation.

Let me know what you think,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Clara]

I looked up in Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary:
"You can use basic to describe something that is very simple in style and has only the most necessary features, without any luxuries. "
Can this explain this test?
Clara

[Torsten]

Hi Clara,

'The menu is quite basic' means that the restaurant doesn't offer many different meals. For example, they might offer just 3 different meals such as Fried Chicken, Farmer Steak and Fish Soup. So you can choose only one out of those three meals. On other words: The menu is quite basic.

Let me know what you think.
Many thanks,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Clara]

oh, hehe I basically understand now
Do help a lot
Thanks
Clara

[Alan]

Hi Clara,

Just to add to what Torsten has already written, there is a suggestion in 'quite basic' that something isn't all that good. You could also use this description for a room in a hotel. If you say basic accommodation, it means that the necessities of a bedroom are there but they are all of a simple nature and not very expensive. The addition of 'quite' indicates that it is of a low standard as well as being simple and ordinary.

Alan
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