La differenza tra Say, Tell, Speak e Talk

Molti studenti di inglese si confondono con i verbi say, tell, speak e talk. Tutti parlano dell’atto di usare le parole, ma non si usano negli stessi contesti. Questa guida analizza ciascun verbo, mostra i modelli di frase più comuni e mette in evidenza gli errori tipici da evitare.

1. Panoramica veloce

Ecco un modo semplice per ricordare l’idea principale di ogni verbo:

• say: si concentra su ciò che viene detto
• tell: si concentra su chi riceve l’informazione
• speak: è più formale e usato spesso per le lingue e i discorsi formali
• talk: è più informale e usato per conversazioni e discussioni

Un breve promemoria in inglese:

say = the words, tell = the person;
speak = formal/ability, talk = chat/discuss.

2. Say: attenzione alle parole

Si usa say quando ci interessa che cosa qualcuno dice: la frase o il messaggio in sé.

Strutture tipiche

• say + words/content

  • She said nothing.
  • Don’t say that.

• say (that) + clause

  • He said (that) he was busy.
  • They say (that) it will rain.

• say to somebody (meno comune, soprattutto nello scritto)

  • She said to me, “Good luck.”

Punti chiave

• Con say, l’oggetto diretto è di solito il messaggio, non la persona.

• In genere non si usa say seguito direttamente da una persona:

  • Wrong: He said me the truth.
  • Correct: He told me the truth.
  • Correct: He said (that) he was telling the truth.

Usa say quando il focus è sulla dichiarazione stessa: frase, parole o idea.

3. Tell: attenzione all’ascoltatore

tell si usa quando vogliamo sottolineare a chi viene data l’informazione. La struttura include quasi sempre una persona.

Strutture tipiche

• tell + somebody + something

  • She told me the news.
  • Please tell him the truth.

• tell somebody that + clause

  • She told me that she was leaving.
  • He told us that the meeting was canceled.

• tell somebody to do something

  • My boss told me to finish it today.
  • I told you not to touch it.

Espressioni fisse con tell

• tell the truth

  • To tell the truth, I don’t like it.

• tell a story / tell a joke

  • Grandpa is telling the children a story.
  • He loves telling jokes.

• tell the difference

  • Can you tell the difference between these two photos?

• tell right from wrong

  • Children should learn to tell right from wrong.

Errore comune

• Wrong: She told that she was tired.
• Correct: She said that she was tired.
• Correct: She told me that she was tired.

Ricorda: tell ha quasi sempre una persona subito dopo.

4. Speak: più formale, lingua e discorsi

speak è usato in contesti più formali, soprattutto per:

1. parlare della capacità di usare una lingua
2. parlare di discorsi e interventi formali

1) Capacità linguistica

• Do you speak English?
• She speaks three languages.
• He doesn’t speak German very well.

In questo significato non si usa in genere talk:

• Natural: He can speak French.
• Not natural: He can talk French.

2) Discorso formale / intervento

• The president will speak on TV tonight.
• She will speak at the conference.
• He spoke about climate change in his speech.

Schemi frequenti:

• speak about/on + topic
  • He spoke about his experience.
  • She spoke on education reform.

3) speak to/with somebody

• I need to speak to you.
• Can I speak with the manager, please?

speak to/with è simile a talk to/with, ma suona spesso un po’ più formale o serio.

5. Talk: conversazione informale

talk è più colloquiale e si usa spesso per conversazioni, discussioni e scambi a due vie.

Usi di base

• We talked for hours.
• They are talking on the phone.

Strutture comuni

• talk to/with somebody

  • I like talking to my friends.
  • Can I talk with you for a minute?

• talk about + topic

  • Let’s talk about your plan.
  • We talked about the movie yesterday.

Espressioni frequenti con talk

• talk business

  • Let’s sit down and talk business.

• talk nonsense

  • Stop talking nonsense.

• talk sense

  • Now you’re talking sense.

• small talk (chiacchiere leggere)

  • I’m not very good at small talk.

Pensa a talk quando immagini persone sedute insieme, che chiacchierano, si scambiano idee o discutono un argomento.

6. Confronto a coppie

a) Say vs. Tell

• say = si concentra su le parole
• tell = si concentra su la persona + l’informazione

Confronta:

• She said (that) she was tired.

  • Conta il messaggio; non sappiamo a chi l’ha detto.

• She told me (that) she was tired.

  • Sappiamo esattamente a chi l’ha detto: me.

Altre correzioni:

• Wrong: He said me the truth.

  • Correct: He told me the truth.

• Wrong: She told that she would come.

  • Correct: She said that she would come.
  • Or: She told me that she would come.

Regola pratica:

• Se dopo il verbo vuoi mettere direttamente una persona, usa tell.
• Se dopo vuoi mettere una frase o parole tra virgolette, usa say.

b) Speak vs. Talk

• speak = più formale, usato per le lingue e i discorsi ufficiali
• talk = più informale, usato per conversazioni e discussioni

Confronta:

• He can speak French.

  • Parla della sua capacità linguistica.

• The manager will speak at the meeting.

  • Parla di un intervento formale durante una riunione.

• We talked about the meeting yesterday.

  • Parla di una conversazione informale sulla riunione.

• I need to speak to you.

  • Suona più serio o formale.

• Can we talk?

  • Suona personale e informale: “possiamo parlare?”.

7. Riepilogo

Puoi ricordare i quattro verbi così:

• say

  • Focus: le parole / il messaggio
  • Schemi: say (that) + clause, say + something

• tell

  • Focus: chi riceve l’informazione
  • Schemi: tell + somebody + something, tell somebody that + clause, tell somebody to do something

• speak

  • Focus: capacità linguistica, discorso formale
  • Schemi: speak English, speak at a conference, speak about/on + topic, speak to/with somebody

• talk

  • Focus: conversazione informale, discussione
  • Schemi: talk to/with somebody, talk about + topic

Se tieni a mente queste idee chiave e questi schemi, farai molti meno errori con say, tell, speak e talk.

8. Breve esercizio

Completa queste frasi con la forma corretta di say, tell, speak o talk:

1. He _______ three languages.
2. She _______ me that she would be late.
3. Don’t _______ anything. Just listen.
4. We _______ about our future plans last night.

Ora trasforma queste idee in frasi complete in inglese, usando correttamente i quattro verbi:

1. Be honest about your opinion of this movie.
2. You want to have a conversation with someone about their plan.
3. Someone tells you not to worry about the problem.
4. A friend can use German fluently in conversation.

Puoi controllare le tue risposte confrontandole con le regole qui sopra. Con un po’ di pratica, scegliere il verbo giusto diventerà sempre più naturale.