The Correct Way to Use “Eventually” in Sentences

 Hi there! I’m your English coach Christina, welcome to Speak English with Christina, where you’ll learn American culture and business know-how to become confident in English.

Some English words sound the same as in your own language. Most of the time, they also have the same meaning… but not always!

So you might think you’re using a word correctly, but then your English-speaking colleagues give you a weird look.

You think they understood what you mean, they think they understood what you mean, but actually you can both be wrong !

It’s alright! It can happen to everybody. And I want to help you get better than that!

That’s why I’m creating a practical, 100% useful ebook, “What was that?”: How to correct 50 common mistakes and avoid confusion in American English”. You’ll find in there conversation scripts, grammar tips, and many common mistakes you won’t have to make anymore!

For instance, let’s take the word “eventually.”

I often hear a common mistake, that I find in sentences such as “Eventually, we might have lunch together, what do you think?” Here, the speaker makes a mistake with “eventually.”

Indeed, many students use “eventually” to express the idea of “something that might be a possibility,” or for something that might happen depending on how the situation evolves.

But that’s a mistake! These ideas are better expressed with “Maybe”, “Potentially” or “Possibly,” or even “If you want”

A correct version of the example would be “Maybe we’ll have lunch together, what do you think?”, or “We might have lunch together, possibly. What do you think?” “Eventually” means something else!

In the English language, “eventually” means “finally”, “sometime in the future”, “sooner or later.”

Examples of “eventually” in sentences: “I’m looking for a new job. It’s tough but I’m sure I’ll find one eventually.” “Julie is late to our meeting, but she’ll get here eventually.” “Eventually, you are going to get rid of all these mistakes in your English. I’m sure of it, don’t worry!”

The difficulty in this word is that it’s very easy to miss that you even made a mistake: your sentence will probably still mean something, but not what you intended to say!

For instance if you say “I’ll eventually call you!”, instead of “I’ll call you maybe! which is what you mean, they’ll understand “Sooner or later, I will call you”, which is a little vague, like “One day, I’ll call you. But the exact day is a mystery…