Often we make mistakes when learning a new languge because of the influence of our native language. Over the next few weeks I will be looking at some of the problems Brazilians find when learning English.

(material reproduced from© John Clites 2011 www.EnglishForBrazilians.com)

Say/tell/talk/speak

English has a number of verbs referring to talking which are almost , but not quite, the same. These are “say”, “tell”, “talk”, and “speak”. Portuguese has a similar set of verbs: “dizer”, “contar”, and “falar”. “Say” (or its forms “says” or “said”) is used frequently in English for “reported speech”, that is, repeating what someone else said. It generally translates as “dizer” in Portuguese. Examples: “She said that she would meet us here at noon.” “He called to say he’s sick.” [Notice how the “that” after “say” is optional.] “Tell” is used when communicating information, directions, or orders to someone. Examples: “I told you to clean up your room, young man!” “The boss told me that the report must be finished by Friday.” We also “tell a story” and “tell a lie” or “tell the truth”. “Tell” generally would equate to “contar”.

Special note: We “tell” someone something. In our examples above “I told you…” and “The boss told me…” In English, we would never say “I said you…” or “The boss said me…” This is a fairly common mistake among those learning English. You can use the verb “say” in such situations, but you must use the preposition “to” before the object: “I said to you…” or “The boss said to me…” However, more frequently native speakers use “tell” in these situations.

 Finally, “talk” and “speak” generally would translate as “falar”. When should you use “talk” and when “speak”? Very often either is fine. “Talk” is generally used for more informal situations and “speak” for more formal ones: “Hi, Joe. We were just talking about your new car.” “Sir, could I speak with you when you have a minute?” When giving a presentation to a group of people, we use the noun forms of “talk” and “speak”, which are “talk” and “speech”. Examples: “I have to give a talk to the new employees next Monday.” “I have to give a speech to 300 people on Thursday and I’m really nervous!” Again, the meaning is essentially the same, but “speech” is a bit more formal than “talk”