speak
- say - tell
‘speak’
When you speak, you use your voice to produce words. The past tense of speak is spoke. The -ed participle is spoken.
They spoke very enthusiastically about their trip.
I've spoken to Raja and he agrees with me.
‘say’
Don't use ‘speak’ to report what someone says. Don't say, for example, ‘He spoke that the doctor had arrived’. Say ‘He said that the doctor had arrived’.
I said that I would like to teach English.
He said it was an accident.
‘tell’
If you mention the person who is being spoken to as well as what was said, use tell.
He told me that he was a farmer.
I told her what the doctor had said.
‘talk’
speak
- talk
Speak and talk have very similar meanings, but there are some differences in the ways in which they are used.
‘speaking’ and ‘talking’
When saying that someone is using his or her voice to produce words, you usually say that they are speaking.
Please be quiet when I am speaking.
He was speaking so quickly I found it hard to understand.
However, if two or more people are having a conversation, you usually say that they are talking. You don't say that they ‘are speaking’.
I think she was listening to us while we were talking.
They sat in the kitchen drinking and talking.
used with ‘to’ and ‘with’
If you have a conversation with someone, you can say that you speak to them or talk to them.
I saw you speaking to him just now.
I enjoyed talking to Ana.
You can also say that you speak with someone or talk with someone. This use is particularly common in American English.
He spoke with his friends and told them what had happened.
I talked with his mother many times.
When you make a telephone call, you ask if you can speak to someone. You don't ask if you can ‘talk to’ them.
Hello. Could I speak to Sue, please?
used with ‘about’
If you speak about something, you describe it to a group of people, for example in a lecture.
I spoke about my experiences at University.
She spoke for twenty minutes about the political situation.
In conversation, you can refer to the thing someone is discussing as the thing they are talking about.
You know the book I'm talking about.
I think he was talking about behaviour in the classroom.
You can refer in a general way to what someone is saying as what they are talking about.
‘I saw you at the concert.’ – ‘What are you talking about? I wasn’t there!'
If two or more people are discussing something, you say they are talking about it. Don't say they ‘are speaking about’ it.
The men were talking about some medical problem.
Everybody will be talking about it at school tomorrow.
languages
You say that someone speaks or can speak a language.
They spoke fluent English.
How many languages can you speak?
You don't say that someone ‘talks’ a language.
Be careful
Don't use ‘in’ when you are talking about someone's ability to speak a language, and don't use a progressive form. Don't say, for example, ‘She speaks in Dutch’ or ‘She is speaking Dutch’ to mean that she is able to speak Dutch.
Be careful
If you hear some people talking, you can say ‘Those people are speaking in Dutch’ or ‘Those people are talking in Dutch’.
She heard them talking in French.
They are speaking in Arabic.