* Disclaimer: I'm just an average American. I'm not a teacher or grammar expert. 1. There is little difference. Both mean to be correct for rules. These are all acceptable: She is dressed appropriately for church. She is dressed properly for church. Do you have appropriate clothes for church? Do you have proper clothes for church? To me, 'appropriate' is a bit more commonly used. 'Proper' sounds a bit fancy for common American English. It has a bit of a British feel to it. If you used the above sentences with the word 'proper', they'd be 100% correct, but you'd sound really formal. 2. Create is *the act* of making or producing something. Example sentences: The government needs to create new jobs. She created art. Creative is a *description* word to describe someone or something with the ability to create. It is often used for describing something or someone who creates *unique* things or ideas. Example sentences: He thinks of such unique and creative ideas. (the ideas are creative) He has very creative writing (the writing is creative) She is an artist - she is very creative. Her art is very creative. (the art is creative) She creates very creative art (I wouldn't say this as it sounds repetitive, but is grammatically correct). 3. This one is hard reeaallly difficult to explain, but I'll try my best. Destroy is *to cause* something to no longer exist and destruction is the *act* itself or the *result* from the cause. Some example sentences: The earthquake is destroying the city. *the act* The earthquake destroyed the city. *the act* The earthquake will destroy the city. *the act* The earthquake is causing so much destruction in the city right now. *the result* The earthquake created so much destruction. *the result* The earthquake will create so much destruction. *the result* *I hope someone comes along to provide better answers. In the meantime, I hope this helps more than it confuses.