Language Activator – Actually

Actually/in fact/really/ in reality / the truth is/in theory/ in effect

Actually

(adverb)

especially spoken used to tell or ask someone what the real situation is, when they think it is something different

.It turns out that one of the children I thought was a girl was actually a boy

In fact

(adverb)

.used to tell someone what the real situation is, when they think it is something different

.Actually is more informal and is used more in conversation than in fact

.Actually is also used more in questions than in fact

Actually is often used at the beginning of a sentence that answers a question, but in fact is not

.He said it would be cheap but in fact it cost over £۲۰۰

in actual fact/in point of fact

They seem to think that building a new road will improve the traffic problem, whereas in point of fact it will make it worse

Really

(adverb)

spoken used to say what the truth is, especially because something about the situation may make people believe something that is wrong

.He failed his tests, but he’s quite a bright guy, really

in reality/the reality is

used to introduce the second part of a statement when you want to show that the first part is not true or exact

.It seems like just yesterday, but in reality it was five years ago

the truth/fact is

used to show what the real truth or fact is in a situation, when this is surprising or different from what people believed was true

.I may make it all look easy, but the truth is I work very hard

in practice

(adverb)

used to show the difference between what is supposed to happen according to a rule or law, and what does happen

.Teenagers are not allowed to drink in bars, but in practice they often do

in theory … in practice

.The law seemed like a good idea in theory, but in practice it has proved far too expensive

in effect/effectively

(adverb)

used to show what really happens, even though this was not clear from what was said or done

.Management seems to be saying, in effect, that if we don’t like the offer, we can all quit

:Practice

:Fill in the blanks with appropriate words

.N1. Foreign companies have been ————-running the country for decades

N2. Economic predictions are highly theoretical. It’s what they mean in ————-that is important

.N3. The ———was that she did not enjoy getting together with the rest of her family

.N4. Nowadays owning a car may appear to be a necessity, but in ————it isn’t

N5. There are almost 200,000 possible combinations of symbols. In———fact, only a small number of these are used

.N6. No, I’m not offended at all. In——–, I’m glad you asked the question

‘.N7. ‘Here’s the $10 I owe you.’ ‘————, you owe me 20

?N8. Did he ———–hit you or just threaten you

:Answers

Effectively/ practice/ truth/ reality/ actual/ fact/ Actually/ actually