 The verbs say, speak, talk, tell, and discuss can be confusing in English. Many people get them mixed up. This video will teach you when and where to use these words, which have very similar meanings. The differences among these words usually depend on what comes after them. One, object. Two, two plus object. Three, indirect object. Four, with plus object. Five, about plus object. Six, that, noun clause. Seven, reduced noun clause. Eight, adverb. Number one, verb plus object. Almost all of these verbs can take a simple object, but the objects are often different. See the examples below. Verb, object, types of objects. Speak, yes, a language. Say, yes, words, phrases, sentences, a prayer, indefinites, such as something or anything. Tell, yes, a story, a joke, the truth, a lie. Discuss, yes, a topic, indefinites. Talk, yes, but this is not common, nonsense. For example, Kyoko speaks Japanese well, but I only speak English. Say, uncle, come on, say it. I say aunt, you say aunt. Can you say one runway runs one way and one runway runs the other way? You're telling a good story. Tell the truth. Discuss the weather, politics, anything. Just discuss something. Now you're talking nonsense. This is somewhat informal. Feel free to use this tongue twister anytime. Just don't forget where you got it. Test yourself. Which word? Say, tell, speak, talk, discuss. Need more time? Feel free to pause the video if you do. Answers, tell a lie. Speak Vietnamese. Say, anti-disestablishmentarianism. Discuss this topic. Tell a joke. Say, chrysanthemum. Speak Swahili. Talk nonsense. Say, a prayer. Two, verb plus two object. Some verbs can be followed by two plus an object. Verb, two object. Examples. Speak, yes. Please speak to your brother. Say, yes. What should I say to him? Tell, no. Use indirect objects instead. Discuss, no. Talk, yes. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Say usually requires another, direct object in sentences. Say it to him. Do not say, tell to someone. Three, verb plus indirect object. Only the verb tell is followed by an indirect object. Verb, indirect object. Examples. Speak, no. Say, no. Tell, yes. Tell me a story but don't tell me a lie. Discuss, no. Talk, no. Four, verb plus with object. Some verbs can be followed by with plus an object. Verb, with object. Examples. Speak, yes. Can I speak with you for a minute? Say, no. Tell, no. Discuss, yes. Don't discuss business with him. Talk, yes. I'll talk with the boss. With discuss, you need a topic before with. Examples. Discuss it with her. What's the difference between speak or talk with and speak or talk to? These phrases are nearly the same and are often used interchangeably. However, there can be a slight difference. Speak or talk to someone. Think face to face, me to you. One person talks, the other mostly listens. One has important things to say to the other. Speak or talk with someone. Think side by side with each other. This usually implies there is a discussion among equals. For example, I talk to my son about his behavior. This implies that the speaker has higher status than the listener, but not always. For example, she spoke to her boss about the incident. This implies that the boss is the main listener. She is the main speaker and has something important to say. With with, there is a more reciprocal relationship. The other speakers are equally involved in the discussion. One person does not dominate the interaction. I spoke with my colleagues about the issue, and we all came to an agreement. What's the difference between speak and talk? These words are often used interchangeably as well. Speak tends to carry a more formal tone. Talk is less formal. For example, would you like to speak to or with the CEO about that? I can talk to my best friend about anything. 5. Verb plus about an object. Some verbs can be followed by the preposition about. We talk, speak, or tell about a topic. Say is not as commonly used here. And there is also an object before about. Verb, about plus object, examples. Speak, yes. Speak about another topic. Say, yes. Say something about the company's vision. Tell, yes. Tell us about your vacation. Discuss, no. Talk, yes. Talk about a controversial issue. Don't say discuss about. It sounds redundant. It is generally okay to end these types of questions with a preposition, to, with, or about. The object is implied. You talked to someone. Who did you talk to? Whom did you speak with? This is quite formal. What did you talk about? Ready for some practice? Indicate whether the following are correct or incorrect. Feel free to pause the video if you need some more time. Answers. Please tell to the children a story. Incorrect. Please tell the children a story. 2. I will discuss the new plan to my boss. Incorrect. I will discuss the new plan with my boss. Did you talk to your sister about the party? Okay. You can also say with or speak. Martha said to her father-in-law. Incorrect. Martha said something to her father-in-law. I will speak with my friend tomorrow. Okay. Also, talk or to. She talked to her mom about the problem. Incorrect. She talked to or with her mom. 7. Have you discussed with Jim? Incorrect. Have you discussed it with Jim? Noun clauses with these words. Two types of noun clauses can be used here. Noun clauses with that or noun clauses with other words. For example, he said that he would love her forever. She told him what he should do. 6a. Verb plus noun clause with that. Only a few verbs can be followed by that noun clauses. Verb. That noun clauses. Examples. Speak. No. Say. Yes. He said that he was going home. Tell. Yes. She told him that she was staying. Discuss. No. Talk. No. Sentences with tell require an indirect object here. 6b. Verb plus noun clause with other words besides that. Other verbs can be followed by different noun clauses. Verb. Other noun clauses. Examples. Speak about. Yes. She spoke about what she needed. Say. Yes. He said whatever he wanted to say. Tell. Yes. They told us where we should go. Discuss. Yes. We discussed when we would meet. Talk about. Yes. I talked about how I met my wife. Noun clauses serve as objects and use words like who, what, when, whatever. The preposition about is required with speak and talk here. 7. Reduced noun clauses. In some cases, we can omit or change words to reduce noun clauses. For example, he said that he would always love her. He said he would always love her. She told him that he was a fool. She told him he was a fool. We told them where to go. They talked about what to do. 7a. Verb plus noun clause with that. The word that can often be omitted when followed by a new subject. Verb. That noun clauses. Examples. Speak. No. Say. Yes. He said that he was going home. Tell. Yes. She told him that she was staying. Discuss. No. Talk. No. He said he was going home. She told him she was staying. Notice how we omit the word that here. 7b. Verb plus noun clause with other words. Some verb forms are changed when the subject is omitted. 8. Verb. Other noun clauses. Examples. Speak about. Yes. She spoke about finding a new job. Say. Yes. He said which one to choose. Tell. Yes. They told us how to do it. Discuss. Yes. We discussed when to meet. Talk about. Yes. I talked about playing racquetball. 9. Noun clauses. Service objects and use words like who, what, when, whatever. They can be reduced by omitting the subject and replacing the verbs with two plus verb. In some cases we can use verb plus ing forms after about. Exercises. Make the sentences shorter by reducing noun clauses. Omit or change words wherever you can. Need some more time? Feel free to pause the video if you do. Answers. Omit or change words wherever you can. Kelly said she would be home for dinner. Johnny told us what to say. Tony will talk about how to fix the car. Tony will talk about fixing the car. We discussed where to hold the party. We can also say we discussed where the party would be held. My parents told me they would be here soon. Casper will speak about how to play chess. Or Casper will speak about playing chess. Sue said she saw a super shooting star. They talked about whether to go or not. Adverbs. Some verbs can be followed directly by adverbs. Others require an object first. Verb. Adverb. Examples. Speak. Yes. She is speaking nicely. Say. Object plus adverb. Say it correctly. Tell. Object plus adverb. Tell it to him slowly. Discuss. Sometimes an object plus adverb. Discuss it carefully. Sometimes we can say discuss carefully. Talk. Yes. She talks quickly. Hope that was helpful. Remember to click the thumbs up button if you liked this video. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching. If you have an idea for our next video, please let us know at the link below.