Word of the Day: Talk
Use the word “talk” when a person speaks. The words “talk” and “speak” are similar, but they can’t always be used in exactly the same ways:
- I’d like to talk with you. (I’d like to speak with you.)
- She wants to talk to a doctor. (She wants to speak to a doctor.)
- Let’s talk.
- Would you like to talk about this?
- The teacher talked to the student about his behavior in class.
- The student was talked to. (passive voice)
- Are you talking on the phone?
- That guy really knows how to talk. (He talks a lot)
A person who talks a lot is talkative. The word “talkative” is an adjective:
- Sherry is too talkative in class, so the teacher moved her to a different seat.
- Ralph isn’t very talkative tonight because of something that happened today at work.
The word “talk” may be used in some unusual ways when it’s used as a noun:
- The teacher gave the boy a good talking to. (She gave him a verbal reprimand or punishment.)
- The professor gave a talk on nutrition. (talk = lecture)
- She gave a good talk.
- If you’re going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. (If you say your going to do something, you actually have to do it.)
- That’s just a lot of talk. (People are saying something mean about someone, but it might not be true.)
- There’s been a lot of talk around the office about Regina and Steve. (talk = gossip)
- He’s a big talker.
- He’s all talk and no action.
Note: You can say that a person “knows how to speak English,” but don’t say a person “knows how to talk English.”
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with T page to see the list of all words starting with letter T. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
