Antonyms - Grape and Banana

By "OU", do you mean the British Open University? This question puzzles me. Most antonyms are either "pure" adjectives (happy/sad, high/low) or participles that function as adjectives (far-sighted/short-sighted, right-handed/left-handed). There are all sorts of noun antonyms, too. Llove/hate, heaven/hell, and even employer/employee all qualify as antonym pairs. Not all nouns have antonyms, of course. What's the opposite of "book" or "sturgeon" or "tree"? I would be tempted to add 'grape' and 'banana'. Maybe they are 'opposite' in some botanical context? I think that even so it would be stretching it a bit. Does your OU course give you access to a tutor? If so, perhaps you could ask him or her, and if you get an answer, I hope you come back and elighten me!

Hi

Ty for your reply. Yes I'm studying with the British Open University. I agree with everything you say, it's very puzzling!! I do get assigned a tutor but not for a couple of weeks as the course doesn't officially start until October 1st. I'm just so curious, it's bugging me and It's definitely the first question I will ask. I will post the answer here soon.

Thanks again

Possibly the banana/grape pair has been deliberately inserted to be a discussion topic. Hopefully all will become clear when you get in contact with your tutor. My wife did an OU Modern languages degree course and the tutors were very good and very accessible.

Dunno. One fruit is seeded and the other isn't. Can that make them antonyms in a fruity sense?

Aha! A banana is technically an herb.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/bananas-are-actually-a-herb-and-other-fun-fruit-facts/story-fneuz8wn-1226928854655

Humpf! You want herbs? Throw some weeds into a flower pot and you've got herbs.

That, I did not know.

They're also technically berries.

I guess to a vintner grapes and bananas can be antonyms. You can make wine from grapes, of course, but you can also make wine from cherries, blackberries, even peaches. But I don't think I've ever heard of anyone making wine from bananas.

I have. Wine can be made from any fruit, leaf or flower as long as they're given enough sugar and nutrients.

Grapes have everything they need to make wine, they've even got yeast growing on the skins, everything else needs something added, particularly flower wines.

I hope that sometime soon this discussion will bear fruit.