Vocabulary in Context: False Friends 'actually' and 'eventually'
Lucía is answering the vocabulary section of the PAU English paper in Teruel. The text is about the gig economy. One item asks her to find a word in the text that means 'in fact, used to correct a previous statement'. The relevant sentence is: 'Actually, many gig workers earn less than the minimum wage.' The options are: (a) actualmente (currently), (b) en realidad (in reality), (c) actual (current). Lucía remembers that 'actual' in English is a false friend and often means 'real' or 'existing'. She also has to choose the synonym for 'eventually' in another sentence: 'The company eventually agreed to pay compensation.' Options: (a) finally, (b) possibly, (c) immediately. She has 5 minutes left and 8 vocabulary items to complete.
1. Choose the correct meaning of 'actually' and explain the false-friend trap.
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Correct option: (b) en realidad. In English, 'actually' means 'in fact' or 'really', often used to correct an assumption or add surprising information. In the sentence, it corrects the common belief that gig work is well paid. It does not mean 'currently' (actualmente) or 'current' (actual). The Spanish word 'actualmente' translates as 'currently' or 'at present', not 'actually'. The PAU vocabulary section frequently tests this pair because Spanish speakers transfer the meaning of 'actual' wrongly. Read the whole sentence: 'many gig workers earn less than the minimum wage' is a corrective fact, not a time reference.
2. Choose the synonym for 'eventually' and justify your answer with reference to the sentence.
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Correct option: (a) finally. 'Eventually' means 'in the end, after a long time or after some delay'. The sentence says the company agreed to pay compensation after some unspecified process, so 'finally' fits. Option (b) 'possibly' means 'perhaps', which does not match the certainty of 'agreed'. Option (c) 'immediately' is the opposite of 'eventually' because it means 'at once, without delay'. The false friend is Spanish 'eventualmente', which usually means 'possibly' or 'occasionally', not 'finally'. In English exams, 'eventually' almost always signals a final result after delay.