In English, as in other languages, abstract ideas are built upon concrete ideas. For example, if I say “table” or “chair” then the ideas that come to mind are the physical objects, one to sit at and the other to sit on.

But if we talk about the idea “The chair tabled the discussion until next week,” then we are talking about a metaphorical table and chair in which the idea “table” shifts from being an object to being an action.

The “chair” is a person in charge of a group who literally sits in the most important chair at the table.

When we table an idea until later, we figuratively place the idea on the table until sometime in the future when it will be discussed again.

In this way, the literal ideas of table and chair morph into the figurative ideas of the chair of the committee and putting an idea on the table for later. For most special needs students, understanding the concrete ideas of chair and table is easy, but making the intuitive leap to the figurative meanings is more difficult. Drawing the ideas out can make these ideas more accessible.