ACTUAL & ACTUALLY. How to use these false friends in English
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- Опубліковано 10 сер 2017
- The English words 'actual' and 'actually' are false friends in many languages. You think they mean one thing but in fact they mean another.
In this video you'll learn how to use these words to make your English more polite when you're speaking, and also how to use them correctly so you avoid confusing anyone.
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We would like to say a big thank you to Super Agent Awesome for appearing in this video.
Thank for excellent lesson. carry on...
Glad you like it Mijanur! Thanks for writing.
Your videos are good....Actually are great!!!!
Jay: It's actually cold out. It's 9º.
Vicky grabs her light sweater, goes outside later takes it off, shocked how cold it still is, realizes Jay said it's "really" cold and it's still cold
Thanks a lot, I was in a mistake with these two words for a long time!
Have a nice day!
So glad it was useful avarelab! Thanks for writing.
Thanks both of you to clear our doubts related actual
I really enjoy learning English with you! Thanks!
That's great Saulo! Thank you.
Yes, these false friends exist in german too. We have a word "aktuell" which means currently. Two other examples of false friends between english an german are "bekommen" (to get) which looks a lot like "become" ("werden" in german) and "eventually" which often gets translated as "eventuell" when the correct translation would be "letztendlich". "Eventuell" actually means "probably".
Also, the german language uses some english words in a complete different context. Two prominent examples are "Handy" (mobile phone) and "Public Viewing" (watching a sports event, especially a soccer match, on a big screen).
Thanks for these great examples Wolfram. Much appreciated.
I love your videos! Thank you very much!
Glad you like them!
I loved this video.
Another word is terrific and terrible different meanings but looks similar. In Portuguese we "terrível" for terrible and "explêndido" or "maravilhoso" for terrific.
Marcel from Brazil
Oh yes! Terrible and terrific. They can be very confusing and we'll see if we can do a video where we point that out. Thanks for that great idea, Marcel.
I'm loving to watch your videos, they are REAAALY AMAZINGGG
So glad to hear that Comstock. Thanks for writing.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
You're welcome!
The best explanation of "actual" I have ever heard! Thank you for it.
It is actual that people who use word 'actual' in wrong way are usually certain about it's meaning :)
Both nice.
Thanks so much your videoes helped to learn
Thant's great to hear Fada. Glad they are useful.
Thank you so much
You're very welcome Taher. :-)
Hello dear teacher
What you present is really interesting and amazing i really appreciate your job.
All the best.
Take care and have a good time.
Your Student from Algeria
:-)
It was funny and clear. Thank u!
Glad you liked it Melinda. :-)
Good morning, dear friends.I became fascinated by your riveting explanation of " actual" expressions and I'm trying to find out my own great examples.Dear Vicky and Jay , thank you very much and Happy Saturday
Wow so amazing. Now I can understand the way these words are. Love you all.Oh if my English is not right, please show me and I am also sorry about that. THANKS
Your English is great Tram. One small change I'd make here to make it more natural. "Now I can understand the way these words are USED.
Very useful video, as always. ACTUALLY, useful and funny!
As for false friends English/French, there are a lot, e.g.:
eventually/éventuellement (possibly);
library/librairie (bookshop);
to achieve/achever (to complete);
confidence/confidence (secret);
to deceive/décevoir (to disappoint)
to demand/demander (to ask) ...
Good job. As always thumbs up.
Thanks Claudio. We're always glad to see you here.
Gracias a Nina Sugarkisser por los subtitulos en español.
Thanks so much for thanking Nina, Carlos. We really appreciate the kind people who make subtitles for us and it's great that you found them helpful.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos Yes, unfortunately not all UA-cam channels give the option to cooperate with subtitles.
Hi Vicki and Jay. Very good! "Actual" and "Actually" are false friends in Portuguese. "Intend" and "Pretend" are also false friends in my native language. These words can ACTUALLY confuse Brazilian students of English. Thank you. Bye!
Intend and pretend is a great example! Thanks for that Julio!
Actually I really like this videos.
Thanks Nick. Delighted you like it.
Thank you so much for that video :)
So glad you like it Bouhorma. Thanks for writing.
Beautiful!
Glad you liked it Daniel.
Simple English Videos 😊 a huge hug from Peru!
Oh, tks for the explanation. Hope you could also prepare a future video with "SPECIALLY, ESPECIALLY and SPECIFICALLY"? Have a nice weekend!!
Oh that's an interesting question. I'll see what we can do.
Very useful video! Now I know how to translate the german word "eigentlich". It is used to soften a unexpected answer or an opposite statement.
In German "aktuell" means "currently". "Actual" sounds and looks very similar, but is a false friend.
So glad it was useful Pewtah. Thanks for sharing this.
thank you
You're very welcome Se Ti.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
My sample sentences:
1) I speak English fluently in my dreams. But in ACTUAL life I am like a neanderthal. :)
2) A friend of mine said the Earth is ACTUALLY flat. I asked him whether he had drunk too much.
Great sample sentences Yunus. Well done!
Actually ı wasn't expct someone from my country in comments.
I really love you guys 🥰😊😊 you guys a nice couple 🤗🤗❤
Thanks so much for the kind words Fairy XD. :-)
In Hungarian the phrase "aktuális", which most resembles to actual, really means a different thing; it means current (misleading) 😀
Yeah, that is misleading. Thanks for pointing that out David.
The same in German. We have the word "aktuell" which means "current"
WOW excellent......thank anyway.....it's really handy....actually the more we learn the more we don't know........
So glad you liked it Anas. Thanks for writing!
I wish I could invite you to my school and give upgrading session to our teachers. Our school is in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It's a nice place to visit.
That's so nice of you Anas. We have no plans to visit Indonesia currently, but if we do, I will tell you!
It's my pleasure, please let me know. It is OK if I let people here know my number so any time they want to visit Yogyakarta, the can contact me (wondering).
You're the best
Hi Ariel. Good to hear from you again. Thanks so much for the lovely compliment and thanks for watching our video.
In Spanish we have "actual" that means current and we get confused "actually" because it sounds like "actualmente" in spanish, but they mean different things. Thanks Vicki.
Exactly, Jose. That's a perfect example of a 'false friend.' Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching.
Good evening from Brazil!! I loved your videos, and I can't wait to share them with my friends. However, there is something I would like to ask - At 5:11 cool Jay says "I have one" for some scissors. Is that ok to a native like you guys refer to a pair of scissors like that, I mean, as a singular thing? Thanks, and congrats for the nice job! :)
+Marcio Oliveira Oh well spotted? It's a British and American difference. I'm British, so I would have said 'some' there. But Jay is American so he used the singular 'one' there. That is correct in American, but wrong in British English.
@Simple English Videos Actually :) regarding "scissors" that confusion between singular and plural is common in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. In Italian and Spanish you can say it plural or singular (la tijera, las tijeras..la forbice, le forbici) almost no difference (almost). In portuguese I think should be singular but many use the plural too. In french is plural (des ciseaux) or singular (un pair de ciseaux) .
Hi Vicki and Jay! Funny video , funny topic!
I am always confuse with the word "hazard"...witch is almost similar to "hasard" in french...but has a totally different meaning 🤔
Oh I didn't know that Francoise. Thak you for telling me. What does 'hasard' mean in French? Is it a verb or a noun?
Hi there,
'hasard' in French has several meanings but the most commun is chance, coincidence... It's a noun
For example:
- J'ai rencontré Vicky et Jay par hasard lorsque j'étais à Philadelphie./ I met Vicky an Jay by chance, when I was in Philly.
or
- les hasards de la vie / Life's coincidences
Oddly enough, we have the reflexive verb 'se hasarder' and the adjective 'hasardeux' which are close to the English meaning of 'hazard'. (formal language)
For example:
- Quand je serai au Canada en mai, je ne me hasarderai pas seule en forêt: J'ai trop peur de croiser des ours./ When I am in Canada, next Mai, I won't venture in the forest alone. I am too afraid to meet bears.
- Il a fait des choix hasardeux. / He made risky choices.
Oh that's really useful info! Thanks Cecile!
Simple English Videos, please could you help me with this one (it has nothing to do with the topic in the video): When we want to encourage a friend for example who is competing like in a fight, to be brave, to try his or her best, not to give up, to be tough , etc, in my language we say "Vamos" vamos" which literally means "let's go". Vamos is actually imperative for first person plural of verb IR (go). How would you do the same in both american and British English? I've seen "Come on, man". Does that make sense?
'Come on man' sounds like a very good translation. 'Go get 'em' might work too, or 'Let's go get 'em' if you are part of a team.
Thank you very much for such a good and quick reply, guys.
While I was watching your video, I remembered that I always had trouble with the words "late" and "latest" when I was in secondary school.
Because "late" is used when something is taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time. But "latest" is referring to the most recent and current situations, actions, incidents, etc. Like in "the latest news". ^_^
But after many years of learning and talking English regularly my brain found the "save button" :D
I don't know if Jay heard some of these words by the time he was learning German.
Actually, Germans love to use words English words, but most of them don't even exist in the English language 😂
Like "Handy" for "cell phone".
A "Bodybag" in German is a small backpack.... 😅😅
Porridge, Showmaster, Streetworker... Germans love English 😅
Oh body bag is a funny one, Steffi. We put corpses in body bags. I loved your expression "my brain found the save button." Very descriptive. :-)
You make me blush🙈🙈 Thank yous so much for your kind words ♥
Simple English Videos Vicki and Jay put corpses in body bags?) Them teachers who you shouldn't mess with!
It was certanly and unexpected event, Димитър Дзимбов, and quite different from what you were attempting to do. actual might indeed apply
❤❤❤❤
2:56 which "quite" is it? British or American?
Oh great question Szymon! Definitely American, I think. :-)
Both cute! Something with The Audio is wrong. Great lesson though. Thank you very much. Actually the women poisen the husband rather than killing with knife 😀😁
Sorry there's an audio problem. Please don't tell Jay about the poison. :-)
Is it really actual that you would recognize a Greek word in an English Language training program? It might be present, but I don't think it has the kind twist of fate that we associate with actuality. Thanks for watching
Speaking of "false friends" - May I ask a question?
In Germany we say: "Ich engagiere mich für etwas." when we are involved or participating in somthing of free choice to support for instance an organisation or a political party etc.
In English there is the word "engage" and I've learned that it means to be bind by a pledge to marry.
I looked it up in the Oxford Dictionary and was surprised that "engage" ACTUALLY (:D) is a word with several meanings many ways other ways to use it in spoken English. :O
I would love to learn more about it from your view as native speakers in a new video or something. ^///^ That would be so interesting ♥
Yes, engage has several meanings and it's pretty topical at the moment Steffi. We are hoping lots of people will engage in the political process here and get out and vote tomorrow.
Oh yes! It has been on the news here a lot as well. I think the whole world is holding its breath full of anticipation. I do hope the same - may lots of people get and cast their vote. ó_ò It's privilege many other people living in other countries don't have.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow's vote!
Wow! The politcal commitment in America seems to have increased since the last election campgain as far as I heard in the news.
To be honest - it's a bit relieving to see the current results, at least in the House of Representatives. And so many democratic women! *____*
Hopefully this is the starting shot for change ♥
We're very relieved that the House changed hands, but also disappointed that there wasn't a larger blue wave. The maths was stacked against the Democrats in the Senate because very few Republican seats were up for grabs this year. And yes, it's very heartening to see we will have more female representatives.
I feel your disappointment here Vicki... :(
But all in all - when we are looking at the results from a wider perspective, the democrats won the majority back, didn't they? ó_ò
And even if the blue wave might be not as large as many were wishing for, nevertheless there IS A BLUE WAVE MOVING through the population causing a rethink ♥ Even if it will take a bit more time, times will change for good!
that unexpected nature of the event would indeed be actual
I like the background music..but actually it its to loud. when you speak..!
Thanks for this useful feedback, Helen. We'll try to drop it in future videos.
even without the sketch shown aforehand, this line is too actual
"Actually" looks like it means "currently", but actually it means "really".
Right on, Szymon.
Make actuality great again
"Hasard" is a noun and it means " chance" or "coincidence ".We are here in an almost mysterious area !
Oh interesting. Hazard can be a noun in English too, but of course it means something dangerous that can cause damage. Thanks for this idea Francoise.
Hi, common latin roots. In Italian the verb"azzardare" has the same english meaning: to try something dangerous, etc. Azzardo (noun) is something risky. In spanish is a mess of different nuances: it could be dangerous, risky. dificil but also timid , fearful (azaroso) and also "chance, coincidence" like the french "hasard". As Francoise Dufort rightfully said : "We are here in an almost mysterious area !" An hazardous one :)
art in face
artifice
artifact
f’act
f’actual
f’actually
scissure
scissor
seizure
seizer
Caesar
sea sir
Kaiser
Czar
Tsar
actual=real=true (Adj)
actually=really=truly (Adv)
What is the actual/real/true price?
Actually/Really/Truly, English is quite easy.
Great job, Mollie.
Do you guys have someone younger to act in the videos?
I wish we did Cngzhn!
We love the videos, and Vicki and Jay, just as they are!
Actually, I think that this aspect is not that important. The examples are well chosen and easy to understand. Vicky explains rules and mistakes very clearly. My teen pupils loved the video about travel /trip / journey.