Esperanto · Chapter 20 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Falsaj amikoj: words that lie to English speakers
kurioza is odd, not inquisitive; aktuala is current, not actual; drogo is not your prescription; pretendi never means pretend. The false friends grouped by how they betray you.
The short version
Aktuala is current, and never actual
The worst false friend in the language, because it is common, it is invisible, and the wrong sentence still parses. La aktuala situacio is the situation right now; for actual, meaning real as opposed to apparent, you want efektiva, and for actually, efektive. Two more to learn on the same day: eventuala is possible-if-circumstances-allow and never eventual, which is fina, and kurioza is strange and never inquisitive, which is scivola.
La aktuala situacio, sed la efektiva prezo.
Kontroli checks, pretendi claims, atendi waits
Four verbs whose English lookalikes take you somewhere else. Kontroli is to check, verify or audit, with no power in it at all; to control is regi. Pretendi is to claim something as yours by right, the way a pretender claims a throne; to pretend is ŝajnigi. Demandi asks for information only; to demand is postuli. And atendi is to wait, so mi atendis la kunvenon says you stood outside it: to attend is ĉeesti.
Kontrolu la nombrojn, sed li regas la landon.
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