Common Mistakes : Act

Act – Verb

BAD: I am interested in the way people act towards each other

GOOD: I am interested in the way people behave towards each other

BAD: It is time that human beings learned how to act properly, without killing each other

GOOD: It is time that human beings learned how to behave properly, without killing each other

When you are talking about what someone does on a particular occasion, act and behave are interchangeable: Passengers who left the flight in Rhodes said that they had seen two men acting/behaving very suspiciously

When you are talking generally about what someone does or what people do, use behave: ‘You can’t expect all babies to behave the same.’ From the way he behaves, anyone would think that he doesn’t get paid

Act – Noun

BAD: He refused to accept responsibility for his acts

GOOD: He refused to accept responsibility for his actions

The noun act is usually used when you want to comment on a particular thing that someone has done: ‘It was an act of great courage.’ These cowardly terrorist acts bring death and suffering to the innocent