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Difference between SAY, TELL, and SPEAK

If you frequently confuse the words SAY, TELL, and SPEAK, you’re not alone – these are some of the most commonly confused English words! In this lesson, I’ll teach you the rules for the difference between say, tell, and speak.

Tell / Told

Tell means “to give information to a person” – so tell (present) and told (past) are always followed by a person.

Examples:

  • Tell me about the movie. Did you like it?
  • Peter, I told you not to eat any cookies before dinner!
  • Did you tell Sam about what happened at school today?
  • The police told us that the situation was under control.
  • Derek and Melissa told everybody that they were engaged to be married.
  • You should tell her what you think about her idea.
  • Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secret.

Say / Said

With say (present) or said (past), we can use these structures:

  1.  say (something)
  2. say that (something) 
  3. say (something) to (a person)
  4. “(something)” a person said

Examples: 

  1. Francis says she doesn’t like chocolate.
  2. I said that the new website design was great.
  3. What did the teacher say to you when you failed the test?
  4. “Nice to meet you,” Harry said.

Structures #1 and #2 are the most common in spoken English.

Don’t make this common mistake!
  • He said me that he had to leave.
  • He told me that he had to leave.

Speak / Spoke

Use speak (present) and spoke (past) with languages, and with talking in general (no specific details). We can use speak with (someone) and speak to (someone)

Examples:

  • I speak English.
  • Does Donna speak Italian?
  • Emma is going to speak in front of 500 people at the conference.
  • We spoke to the boss this morning. (general conversation, no specific details)
  • I need to speak with you about the new project. (general topic, no details)

In the case of speak with (someone) and speak to (someone), you can also say talk to or talk with.

However, you can’t use “talk” with languages:

  • I don’t talk Chinese.
  • I don’t speak Chinese.

Find this info and more great articles at Espresso English

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Standard Contractions in English

A contraction is a word or phrase that’s (or that has) been shortened by dropping one or more letters. In writing, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters.

Standard Contractions in English

aren’t are not
can’t cannot
couldn’t could not
didn’t did not
doesn’t does not
don’t do not
hadn’t had not
hasn’t has not
haven’t have not
he’d he had; he would
he’ll he will; he shall
he’s he is; he has
I’d I had; I would
I’ll I will; I shall
I’m I am
I’ve I have
isn’t is not
it’s it is; it has
let’s let us
mightn’t might not
mustn’t must not
shan’t shall not
she’d she had; she would
she’ll she will; she shall
she’s she is; she has
shouldn’t should not
that’s that is; that has
there’s there is; there has
they’d they had; they would
they’ll they will; they shall
they’re they are
they’ve they have
we’d we had; we would
we’re we are
we’ve we have
weren’t were not
what’ll what will; what shall
what’re what are
what’s what is; what has; what does
what’ve what have
where’s where is; where has
who’d who had; who would
who’ll who will; who shall
who’re who are
who’s who is; who has
who’ve who have
won’t will not
wouldn’t would not
you’d you had; you would
you’ll you will; you shall
you’re you are
you’ve you have

 

This list and many more valuable grammar articles can be found at http://grammar.about.com/ 

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Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths

Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths:

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence. Wrong! They can actually be quite short. In a run-on sentence, independent clauses are squished together without the help of punctuation or a conjunction. If you write “I am short he is tall,” as one sentence without a semicolon, colon, or dash between the two independent clauses, it’s a run-on sentence even though it only has six words. (See episode 49 for more details.)

9. You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word “however.” Wrong! It’s fine to start a sentence with “however” so long as you use a comma after it when it means “nevertheless.” (See episode 58 for more details.)

8. “Irregardless” is not a word. Wrong! “Irregardless” is a bad word and a word you shouldn’t use, but it is a word. “Floogetyflop” isn’t a word—I just made it up and you have no idea what it means.  “Irregardless,” on the other hand, is in almost every dictionary labeled as nonstandard. You shouldn’t use it if you want to be taken seriously, but it has gained wide enough use to qualify as a word. (See episode 94 for more details.)

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.” Wrong! It’s a style choice. For example, in the phrase “Kansas’s statute,” you can put just an apostrophe at the end of “Kansas” or you can put an apostrophe “s” at the end of “Kansas.” Both ways are acceptable. (See episode 35 for more details.)

6. Passive voice is always wrong. Wrong! Passive voice is when you don’t name the person who’s responsible for the action. An example is the sentence “Mistakes were made,” because it doesn’t say who made the mistakes. If you don’t know who is responsible for an action, passive voice can be the best choice. (See episode 46 for more details.)

5. “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing. Wrong! “E.g.” means “for example,” and “i.e.” means roughly “in other words.” You use “e.g.” to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use “i.e.” to provide a complete clarifying list or statement. (See episode 53 for more details.)

4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you’d write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though “MBA” starts with “m,” which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel “e”–MBA. (See episode 47 for more details.)

3. It’s incorrect to answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.” Wrong! “Am” is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified by adjectives such as “good.” Because “well” can also act as an adjective, it’s also fine to answer “I’m well,” but some grammarians believe “I’m well” should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition. (See episode 51 for more details.)

2. You shouldn’t split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it’s OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a two-word form of a verb. An example is “to tell.” In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. “To boldly tell” is a split infinitive because “boldly” separates “to” from “tell.” (See episode 9 for more details.)

1. You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means “Where are you at?” is wrong because “Where are you?” means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: “I’m going to throw up,” “Let’s kiss and make up,” and “What are you waiting for” are just a few examples.  (See episode 69 for more details.)

You can find more information about each of these myths in the Grammar Girl archives.

 

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Common Marriage Phrases

Marriage.  A timeless conversation topic.  People talk about it before it happens, when it is happening and after it happens.

In the English language we commonly use the word GET before the word married.

The moment you say ‘I do’ (or actually sign the document) that is the moment you get married.

Phrases speaking about it happening in the FUTURE

Some little girls dream of getting married.

I want to get married on the beach.

I never want to get married.

I’m getting married!

We will get married next year.

Phrases speaking about it happening in the PAST

We got married in May.

They got married in Mexico.

He never got married.

marriage vocabulary

The actual marriage ceremony is the wedding (celebration) 

The marriage ceremony will be at a church.

The wedding will be in New York.

The marriage ceremony was lovely.

Kim’s wedding was the best I have ever been to.

Once you get married (sign the document) you are married

I am married.

James is married.

They are not married.

And FINALLY the word MARRIAGE (which is a noun)

I have a great marriage.

Their marriage was bad.

When friends get together, they often talk about their marriages.

 Try it out!  Write a sentence about marriage in the comments below and I will correct it.

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Learning a language… When the time comes to dig in!

I have been trying to learn Russian for a year now, and on a day when my teacher had to cancel the lesson due to a severe cold I sat considering whether I wanted to continue or throw in the towel.

The reason that I started to learn Russian was due to curiosity, since I had a lot of Russian students learning English, but also I wanted to put myself through the student process and see what insight this gave me to help me to improve as a teacher. In this I have achieved many things and it has been an invaluable experience, plus I have been proud of my achievement in understanding the language too, but I also see, with shame, that if I had just tried that bit harder I would have achieved so much more. I have come to truly appreciate that ‘less is more’ when you come across new grammar or concepts. That time to revise and revisit previous learning points is never time wasted. That ‘a little… often’ is priceless advice, and that ultimately homework rules, as it really does reinforce your learning and understanding.

So were there any negatives? Yes. My Italian has suffered and that must now resume priority because I live in Italy. I have seen myself struggle to find words that were once known so well, and have heard myself automatically respond in Russian, then English before finding the correct Italian words. It worries me and I intend to resolve that with haste.

However, I am reluctant to let go of my Russian. I have become extremely interested in the process of learning and the construction of the language itself. I am now curious to see if my return to learning Italian will actually be improved. I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be braver in tackling the more difficult grammar and pronunciation now. I mean, nothing can be as difficult as Russian, surely!

So I conclude, as possibly most students of English do at one time or another, that when you think about giving up, it is really the time when you take stock, appreciate and then prepare to dig in deeper than before. Keep learning! If you’ve taken a break from your English studies over the festive period, now is the time to come back with vengeance and start again. Refresh your memory, renew your efforts, progress to new levels. SkypEnglish4U is the perfect place. We’re a fun group, flexible and friendly. We understand the highs and lows of learning a language. We will help you.

So are you ready? Yeah… Bring it on!

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Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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Google Phrasebook

Google announced their ‘Phrasebook’ in 2013 > Official Release Statement 

I was very excited by this because I am not only a language teacher, but also a language learner.  I am at a very beginner level, slowly and steadily learning Greek.  Taking my own advice that I give to my students, “you must have English in your life everyday if you want to improve…”  I’ve decided to start a journal writing very simple phrases in Greek.  Using my active vocabulary, each day I’ll write a few things down.

I wanted to check a few words using Google Translate (I know, I know, it’s not always correct, but for simple basic words, usually it is ok- and I am at that simple basic level!) and I remembered about phrasebook.  Happy times!  It is so simple to use and I think VERY useful for helping language learners review vocabulary.

First you just type in the word or phrase in your language using Google Translate

google phrasebook

 

Here I actually searched for the phrase first in English-> Greek and then switched it because I want my phrasebook to have the Greek words first, but either way works.

Next you just click on the little star below the phrase or word and you will see a little notification pop up in the upper left-hand corner showing that a word has been added.  That is your phrasebook icon!

google phrasebook

Click on that little star-book icon and you will see all of the words/phrases that you have previously saved.

google phrasebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, I have mine with the Greek phrase first, but you can sort by language and by the date you added it.

You can even export it to a spreadsheet by clicking on that icon under the search tool.

google phrasebook

 

 

 

 

 

google phrasebook

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many great tools out there to help us with language learning.  I hope that you will try it out and let me know how it works!

Please share some of the tools you use to improve your vocabulary in the comments section below and perhaps be featured in a future blog….

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Active Vocabulary vs Passive Vocabulary

 

active vocabulary

VS.

passive vocabulary

 

The questions is…. How do YOU change Passive Vocab to Active Vocab?  Comment below and possibly be featured in a future post!

 

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Memory Retention | Remembering Vocabulary Words

Do you have a good memory?  Do you have issues with remembering vocabulary words?

 memory ˈmɛm(ə)ri/  noun

1) the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information  “I have a great memory for faces”  2) something remembered from the past “My favorite childhood memory is visiting my Grandmother”

Memory plays a HUGE role in language learning.  It is all about remembering vocabulary, grammar rules, idioms, phrasal verbs, the list goes on and on…

In this info graphic from Online Colleges  we can see  Hermann Ebbinghaus’ ‘forgetting curve’

Memory Retention | Remembering Vocabulary Words

As you can see, REVIEWING information is very important for retaining the things that you learn.  If you do not review, you will quickly forget the things you have just learned.

Reviewing and using the language are a very important part of the learning process.  Some people focus on learning new words everyday, but never actually practice using them in a real-life setting.  When you actively use a word (with speaking or writing), you are reviewing it.  Listening and reading also are forms of reviewing as they are reinforcing the words in your memory, but they are a passive form of review.

Anyone can read a page in the dictionary, but to truly ‘know’ the words, you have to be able to use them.

Get involved!  Make it fun!  Sign up for speaking sessions, practice daily by commenting on twitter and facebook  posts.  I’m always happy to respond.  Learning new words is very important, but remembering them is even more important.

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Stick with your English Language goals

Constant dripping hollows out a stone. LUCRETIUS

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
LUCRETIUS

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Impeding, Impending, Imposing – Why are they so similar?!

Today I want to talk about the difference between 3 very similar words: impeding, impending, and imposing. This time, it wasn’t a question from a student, but a problem that *I* had when trying to write a message to a friend! Even as a native English speaker, I couldn’t remember the difference between these words without using a dictionary (don’t laugh at me 😉 So, here it is for your quick reference:

im·pede

imˈpēd/
verb
gerund or present participle: impeding
  •  delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; hinder.
“All of this daydreaming is impeding my progress.”

im·pend

imˈpend/
verb
gerund or present participle: impending
  • be about to happen.
“Our moving date is impending.”

im·pose

[im-pohz]

  •  to obtrude or thrust (oneself, one’s company, etc.) upon others.
“I don’t want to impose on your family.”
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