Pick and Speak
  • Home
  • Services
  • About Hilary
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

Say, Tell, Talk and Speak

09/10/2010

0 Comments

 
Today I have been organizing my English teaching materials and I came across (phrasal verb) some notes on say, tell, talk and speak.

Say- takes no object pronoun and we say things.

He said (that) he would go.
In this blog, I'm saying various things about these verbs.

Tell-takes an object pronoun and we tell people things.

He told me to shut the door.
I told him that I was hungry.

The difference between "talk" and "speak" is small, and gramatically there is NO difference. Basically, that means you cannot make a mistake (except with languages). Talking is usually informal. Speaking is more formal.

The president spoke to the people.
The employees were all talking before the boss began to speak.
Can I talk to you?     (This is an informal situation. We are friends).
Can I speak to you?  (It is likely that this is formal, or perhaps I am angry).
He speaks two languages NOT He talks two languages.
 
 


Comments




Leave a Reply

    Author

    I'm a native English speaker from Boston who has been teaching English for over 10 years. I love the English language and anything to do with communications.

    Archives

    November 2011
    August 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    September 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed