English Vocabulary – ACTUALLY

Bruce: "I've actually never tried Mexican food."
Tim: "Really?"

Why does Bruce use 'actually'?

Tim assumed he had tried it.He doesn't like Mexican food and wanted to emphasize it.He wants to sound like a Mexican.Tim thinks he is wrong.

What does actually sound like?

"as shu a lee""ak too lee""ak chu i lee""AaaaaCHOOO!!!""I chew a leaf"

Actually means 'in fact.'

truefalse

Student: "There were two American presidents named George Bush."
Teacher: "That's right. Actually, one was George H. W. Bush and the other was George W. Bush."

Why does the teacher use actually?

to correct the studentto emphasize that the student is wrongto show the students how smart he isto show that he thinks George H. W. Bush was better than George W. Bush

Simon: "I just got back from a business trip to New York."
Scott: "You know, I don't actually know what you do. I thought you were a teacher."

What does Scott's sentence suggest?

that Simon is lyingthat Scott's idea about Simon was wrongthat Scott thought Simon lived in Los Angelesthat Scott is Simon's student

Joanne: "Can you tell Heather the test is next week at the library? She won't listen to me."
Gary: "Actually, it's this Friday, in class."

What is 'it'?

next weekclassthe librarythe test

"I love opera. Actually, I've seen over 50 of them."
What is the purpose of 'actually' here?

to correct someone's ideathere is no purposeto emphasize somethingto sound important

"Do you actually believe that a man stepped on the moon?"
What does this speaker suggest?

She is shocked to find out that people have been to the moon.She is shocked to find out that you believe people have been to the moon.She is shocked to find out that you haven't been to the moon yet. She is shocked to find out that you are shocked to find out she's shocked.

'Actually' can often be replaced by the word 'really'.

truefalse

'Actually' can be used to start a new paragraph in an essay because it is about to show a contrasting idea.

truefalse

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English Vocabulary – ACTUALLY

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