Act and action?

[Englishlover]

i find the two similar a nouns in some meanings , so sometimes very hard to decide which is appropriate. Can you help me?

[Alan]

Hi,

Act is very often an abstract description of something that has been done as in: an act of kindness/an act of bravery/an act of stupidity.

Action is if you like a positive description of what has been done as in: His quick action in pouring water on the flames stopped the fire getting worse.

Hope this helps

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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