Eventually vs. finally

[Mistarix]

Hi Alan & Torsten,

since this is my first contribution to this forum, it's kind of odd to ask a question concerning endings :

Can you tell me when I have to use eventually? Is there any difference to the word finally?
Someone told me that eventually means "leading up to something" (example: She eventually came home. --> meaning: she actually did come home).

I am quite unsure about when to use eventually.
Thanx for your help in advance...

[Alan]

Hi,

Let's start with the similarity of the two words: they are both adverbs and they both describe what happens in the end. The difference lies in emphasis. Let me give an example: We started our journey by car but then had a puncture. We then decided to go by bus but we had missed the last one. Then we paid for a taxi and EVENTUALLY reached our destination very late at night. This means we got there in the end but there was a series of problems/difficulties on the way. Another example: We talked about where we all wanted to go on holidays and this went on for some time until we FINALLY decided it was cheaper to have our holiday at home. This means the last thing after some
time that we did was to make a decision.

Alan
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