IF YOU SEE THE STRESS-STRAIN CURVE FOR STEEL AND CONCRETE, YOU WILL FIND THAT FAILURE OF STEEL IS NOT SUDDEN, IT'S GRADUAL. WHERE AS CONCRETE IS A BRITTLE MATERIAL, IT'S FAILURE IS SUDDEN. HOPE THIS CLARIFIES YOUR DOUBT.
beside the concept of the ductility of the material itself , for the building (in the global scale) the connection ability to resist rotations and displacements is also important.
well ductility depends on some basic parts: 1.ductility of materials 2.type of resisting frame 3.configurations of elements 4.connections 5.section of element (which I shapes are the best) and others