phrase: between reality and ideal

[Sweetpumpkin]

Hi,

As far as I know, 'ideal' is a countable noun. Then,

She's somewhere between reality and ideal.
There's a gap between reality and ideal.

I'm sure that you know the phrases; but I think... maybe 'ideal' here should be plural. I looked up http://www.americancorpus.org/ and there's no match for 'between reality and ideal'. What do you think? Or are there any other options?

And, 'an ideal becomes reality' - I think you know what I mean. It's a literal translation of Korean into English. Is there a typical expression for that?

Thanks,
sweetpumpkin

[Alan]

Hi,

I think it would work if you said; somewhere between reality and the ideal.

Alan
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[Cerberus™]

I don't know the exact rule for this, but sometimes no article is needed in a comparison of two nouns, though it is possible:
- the gap between reality and ideal.
- this is a hybrid of dog and wolf.
- the difference between medicine and poison is sometimes slight.
I think it has something to do with the nouns' being used as general concepts.

[James]

I would think:
between reality and ideal = between reality and ideal that is not reality.
between reality and the ideal = between reality and the ideal (thinking), which is not practical.

And,
'An ideal becomes reality' = an ideal comes true; or, if 'A reality becomes ideal, it could mean: A reality in the good old time is not a reality anymore.