student asking question

If I call someone an imaginative person, does it imply negative meaning?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Great question! Calling someone an imaginative person can be a positive thing and a negative thing. In this video, it has a negative meaning. The evil stepmother is saying that Cinderella is an "imaginative child" and she means that Cinderella should not be taken seriously. If you were to call someone this when they are speaking about something that they want or something is important to them, you will hurt their feelings. However, if you said, "You are such an imaginative person" to describe someone to praise their work, it is a positive meaning. It can mean they are creative. So be careful with how you use this phrase!

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