Speak vs Talk / Say vs Tell / Hear vs Listen / Look vs see

1- Speak vs Talk

Speak and talk have similar meanings. They suggest that a person is using his or her voice, or that two or more people are having a discussion.

We can say:

speak to somebody 

talk to somebody 

Speak is a little more formal than talk, and is often used in polite requests.

Hello, could I speak to Mr Jones, please?

Say used with direct and indirect speech.

She said that it was my last chance.

Say is most often used without a personal object.

She said that she would be late. (not She said me...)

Talk is the more usual word to refer to conversational exchanges and informal communication.

When she walked into the room everybody stopped talking.

Speak often refers to one person communicating. Talk usually refers to two or more people communicating with each other.

She will speak at the conference on Sunday.

Do you speak English?

Why don't you phone me and we can talk?

I love my best friend. We can talk for hours.

2- Say vs Tell

We use: tell + somebody.

I told David about it.

Did you tell him?

He told me that he was ill.

We use: say + something + to somebody.

She said hello to me.

We use tell when we are giving facts or information:

tell somebody (that) ...

tell somebody something

tell somebody about something

tell somebody who/when/where.

She told me (that) she was ill.

She told me the news.

Tell me about your new job.

He told me where it was

Tell used with direct and indirect speech.

She told me that she would be late

3- Hear vs Listen

Hear and listen are verbs that we use to talk about our sense of hearing - using our ears. But they have important differences in meaning.

We use hear to mean simply that sounds come into our ears. It may not be deliberate. As soon as we wake up and walk around, we hear things.

I heard a knock at the door.

I suddenly heard a loud noise.

Can you speak louder please? I can't hear you.

Listen+to / When we listen, we try to hear. We pay attention and try to understand every sound.

Listen! Is someone crying?

Listen to this song. Can you understand the words?

I'm listening but I can't hear anything.

4- look vs See

See, look and watch are verbs that we use to talk about our sense of sight - using our eyes. But they have important differences in meaning.

Look - to look at something for a reason, with an intention.
When we look, we try to see. We make a special effort. We concentrate our eyes on something.

Look at this photo! Isn't it beautiful?

I'm looking but I don't see it‘

Look at the pictures I took on holiday.’

We use see to mean simply that an image comes into our eyes. It may not be deliberate. As soon as we open our eyes, we see things.

 I can see a cloud in the sky.

I suddenly saw a bird fly in front of me.

Didn't you see Ram? He was waving at you.

Watch - to look at something carefully, usually at something which is moving.

 ‘Watch TV’- the TV doesn’t move, but you watch the moving images carefully.

‘Watch here you are going! You almost stepped on my foot!

For more watch these Videos:

Talk, speek and talk

Listen vs hear

Look vs See

Itri Mehdi

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