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Say – TellTalk – Speak

By Susan Assad

CLEAR ! Chronicle of Leads in English And Resources

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Say - Tell

You can use Say when you want to report someone’s exact words « I’d need to see the customer again » Shawna said

You can also use Say to report what someone said without using the same words Shawna said that she would need to see the customer again

Use Tell when the person, to whom something is said, is mentioned Shawna told her manager that she would need

to see the customer again

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Talk – Speak

Use Talk when you want to mention the subject to be discussed She talked about her project and the deadline with her manager

Use Speak For more formal situations

• In yesterday’s meeting, the President spoke about future prospects

When you want to establish a verbal communication with someone• Can I speak to you for a moment?• (Over the phone) Hello, could I speak to Mr. O’Neil please?

When expressing the language(s) spoken• He speaks German, Italian and Greek

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If you want to try…(click on the line to see the answer)

Sophie told Pat that she was sorry.

Eric is talking about his new car.

Yesterday, our Director told us that he was very proud of his team.

My friend said : “When will you come over with your new motorcycle?”

The English teacher talks about many things.

The President speaks in front of thousands of people.

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Hope this is CLEAR !