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# constructive

«constructive» in Mova's school dictionary: **Helpful and useful, aiming to improve something:…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (constructive)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Helpful and useful, aiming to improve something: constructive criticism. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#m1)

2) Building up rather than breaking down: a constructive discussion. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In school, feedback should be constructive: say what is good and how to make work better, not just what is wrong. In group work and citizenship, constructive talk helps solve problems. Phrases: constructive criticism, constructive feedback, constructive suggestion.

### examples

- Our teacher gives constructive feedback on our stories. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#x1)
- "Your ending is exciting; maybe add more detail in the middle" is constructive criticism. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#x2)
- We had a constructive talk about the playground rules. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#x3)
- Try to be constructive, not just negative. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#x4)
- The meeting was constructive and we made a plan. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#x5)
- She made a constructive suggestion to save time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/#x6)

### note

Adverb: constructively. Opposite: destructive or unhelpful. Constructive criticism is kind and specific, not insulting.

### In the corpora

- ["Constructive talks" often means talks that reached no agreement.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/24-government-spin/23/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «constructive» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/constructive/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.