Let's first have a closer look at the false friends mentioned above. ‘My sister is actually working in a supermarket.' Many less advanced learners might think that actually means ‘at the present time' in the sentence. That's not true, however. We would have to use at present , currently or at the moment instead if we meant that. We use actually to emphasize that something is really true (It's not actually snowing now), to show a contrast between what is true and what somebody believes (The food was actually rather delicious), to correct somebody politely (I'm not married, actually ), or to say something that somebody may not like in a polite way ( Actually, I'm terribly busy at the moment, so I can't help you). In our example sentence, the speaker corrects what someone thinks to be a true fact. To make its meaning clear, we could reformulate it as follows: ‘My sister is in fact working in a supermarket.' (= She is not studying / she is not working in a factory, etc.)
Similarly, the adjective actual doesn't mean ‘happening or existing now'. If we mean that, we should use present, current or topical. We use actual to stress that something is real or exact, as opposed to what is believed or estimated. We have to distinguish, then, between the collocations a current price and an actual price, for example. Compare: ‘The current prices of dairy products are higher than they were last year.' ‘I thought these jeans were rather cheap, but their actual price is quite high.'
‘I regularly actualize my anti-virus software.' Again, this is not correct English usage. When you make computer software or an Internet website more modern by adding new parts, you update it. When you actualize (also spelled actualise) something, you make it real. I could say, for example, ‘I actualized my dream of becoming an English teacher.' (= I turned my dream into reality.)
The noun actuality doesn't mean a piece of news or a recent event, as weaker learners might assume. It expresses the state of something existing in reality (it is usually preceded by the preposition in): ‘The actress looks as beautiful in actuality as she does in photographs.' In plural, actualities are simply things that exist (= facts, realities).
All right, let's move to one of the most typical pair of confusing words - possiblity and opportunity. Students often mix them up, as in the following sentence: ‘I have the possibility to study in the UK.' When you refer to a situation in which it is possible for you or somebody else to do something, use opportunity (I have the opportunity to study in the UK). Use possibility when you are talking about something that might exist, happen or be true. There is no such structure as to have a/the possibility to do something. The possible forms are possibility that... or possibility of (doing) something, so you can say, ‘There is a possiblity that I might study in the UK,' or ‘I'm considering the possibility of studying in the UK.' You can use the more informal synonym chance in place of both possibility and opportunity: ‘I have a chance to study in the UK,' ‘There is a chance that I might study in the UK,' ‘I'm considering the chance of studying in the UK.' In one meaning, possiblity and opportunity can be used interchangeably, though - when we want to express that something gives us a chance to achieve something: ‘Studying in the UK offers a range of great possibilities/opportunities for developing your language skills.'
Besides possibility and opportunity, the noun chance is synonymous with nouns such as accident, coincidence or luck in the meaning of ‘unexpectedly, without planning': ‘I met Jane by chance at the station.' ‘By pure accident I met Jane at the station.' ‘Hi Jane, you're here too. What a coincidence!' ‘It was sheer luck that I met Jane at the station.' Note also the collocation due to chance: ‘The surprising results could simply be due to chance.' (= without any cause or logical explanation) Finally, chance is used with the verb take to express an unpleasant or dangerous possibility: ‘We hadn't bought the tickets, but we decided to take a chance (= take a risk) and went to the concert anyway.' The collocation take a chance is ambiguous without a context, however, as it can also mean the same as take an/the/one's opportunity: ‘The prisoner took his chance and ran away.' (= He took advantage of the situation.)
So, try to take every chance to practice your English.
