Reading Theme:
Construction: Meaning, Examples, and Usage (2 meaning)
Meaning 1：the act of building (construction)
construction
/kənˈstrʌkʃən/
n.
the process of building houses, roads, or other large things.
the act of building
➕
/ði ækt əv ˈbɪl.dɪŋ/
n.
The process or action of building something large, such as a building, road, or bridge.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Root Explanation
From Latin 'constructio' (con- 'together' + struere 'to build').
💡 Mnemonic
CON + STRUCT = build together. Visualize a crane lifting steel beams.
📖 Example
The construction of the new subway line has caused some traffic delays, but everyone is excited about faster commutes in the future.
The new subway line's construction has led to some traffic jams, but people are excited about faster commutes later.
🔗 Collocations
under construction – in the process of being built
construction site – a place where buildings are being built
construction worker – a person who works on building projects
🔄 Synonyms
🚫 Antonyms
destruction (n.) – the act of destroying something
demolition (n.) – the act of tearing down a building or structure
dismantling (n.) – the process of taking something apart
🌱 Derivatives
construct (v.) – to build something
constructive (adj.) – helpful or useful; intended to improve something
constructor (n.) – a person or company that builds things
📖 Cultural Story
Originally from Latin 'constructio', referring to the act of piling or building. In English, it gained prominence during the 18th-century industrial revolution for large-scale building projects.
Meaning 2：grammatical construction (construction)
construction
/kənˈstrʌkʃən/
n.
how something like a sentence or an argument is put together from smaller parts.
grammatical construction
➕
/ɡrəˈmæt.ɪ.kəl kənˈstrʌk.ʃən/
n.
The way words and phrases are arranged to form a sentence or a larger unit, often used to express specific meanings.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Example
The English teacher explained that the construction 'could have been' is used to talk about past possibilities that did not happen.
The teacher explained that the construction 'could have been' refers to past possibilities that never happened.
🔗 Collocations
grammatical construction – a specific arrangement of words in a language
passive construction – a sentence construction in which the subject is acted upon
conditional construction – a sentence structure that expresses a condition and its result
🔄 Synonyms
syntax (n.) – the set of rules for forming sentences in a language
phrase structure (n.) – the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences
clause structure (n.) – the internal organization of a clause
🌱 Derivatives
reconstruct (v.) – to build or form again; to recreate a past event
deconstruct (v.) – to analyze or break down a structure or text
constructional (adj.) – relating to the structure of language
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