Word of the Week

Actually (adverb)

Meaning as the real truth or facts of a situation

Example of using it in a sentence "When doing your homework, you must pay attention to what you have actually been set to work on and not do only what you want to do. "

It can also be used to emphasize what someone has said or done which is surprising to the speaker. So, the word actually is said with some emphasise.

Example of using it in a sentence “My teacher actually expected me to do my homework on time, can you believe that?”

This adverb comes from Middle English (around the 15th century) as far as I can tell. The root word is from the 'actual', the Latin meaning ‘active’ and ‘practical’. Now here the ‘ac’ is not part the ‘to’ of the verb. It is comes - complete with the ‘act’ part of the word.

Spelling tip: we are going to learn this word like this.

Act + u + ally

Use the word as many times throughout the week. This can be verbally, in your written work or listen out for other people using it.