Say、Tell、Speak 與 Talk 的差異

學習者常常對 say、tell、speak 和 talk 這幾個動詞感到困惑。它們都描述「使用詞語」，但用法並不相同。本指南會逐一介紹每個動詞，說明典型的句型，並點出最常見、應避免的錯誤。

1. 快速總覽

以下是一個簡單的方法，幫助你記住每個動詞的核心概念：

• say：聚焦於 the words that are spoken（所說的話）
• tell：聚焦於 who receives the information（誰接收到資訊）
• speak：較為正式，常用於 languages（語言）和 formal speaking（正式發言）
• talk：較為非正式，用於 conversation and discussion（交談與討論）

一句簡短的「記憶口訣」：

say = the words, tell = the person；say = 所說的話，tell = 聽話的人；
speak = formal/ability, talk = chat/discuss；speak = 正式／能力，talk = 閒聊／討論

2. Say：聚焦於所說的話

當我們在意某人說什麼——也就是確切的用字或訊息——時，會使用 Say。

典型結構

• 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（較少見，常用於書面英語）

  • She said to me, “Good luck.”

重點

• 使用 say 時，直接受詞通常是 message（訊息），而不是 person（人）。

• 我們通常不會讓 say 後面直接接一個人：

  • 錯誤：He said me the truth.
  • 正確：He told me the truth.
  • 正確：He said (that) he was telling the truth.

當焦點在於陳述本身——句子、用字或想法——時，就使用 say。

3. Tell：聚焦於聽者

當我們想強調誰接收到資訊時，會使用 Tell。它的結構幾乎總會包含一個 person（人）。

典型結構

• 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.

tell 的固定用法

• 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.

常見錯誤

• 錯誤：She told that she was tired.
• 正確：She said that she was tired.
• 正確：She told me that she was tired.

請記住：tell 後面幾乎總是需要接一個 person（人）。

4. Speak：正式用法與語言

Speak 用於較正式的語境，特別是：

1. 談論使用某種語言的能力
2. 談論正式的談話或演講

1) 語言能力

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

表達這個意思時，我們通常不會使用 talk：

• 自然：He can speak French.
• 不自然：He can talk French.

2) 正式談話／演講

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

常見句型：

• 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 與 talk to/with 類似，但聽起來通常更正式或更嚴肅一些。

5. Talk：非正式交談與討論

Talk 較為非正式，常用於交談、討論和雙向溝通。

基本用法

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

常見句型

• 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.

talk 的常見表達方式

• talk business

  • Let’s sit down and talk business.

• talk nonsense

  • Stop talking nonsense.

• talk sense

  • Now you’re talking sense.

• small talk（輕鬆、隨意的交談）

  • I’m not very good at small talk.

當你想像人們坐在一起、交流想法、聊天或討論某事時，就使用 talk。

6. 成對比較

a) Say 與 Tell

• say = 聚焦於 the words（所說的話）
• tell = 聚焦於 the person + the information（人 + 資訊）

比較：

• She said (that) she was tired.

  • 重點在訊息；我們沒有說出是誰聽到的。

• She told me (that) she was tired.

  • 我們清楚知道她對誰說：me（我）。

更多修正：

• 錯誤：He said me the truth.

  • 正確：He told me the truth.

• 錯誤：She told that she would come.

  • 正確：She said that she would come.
  • 或：She told me that she would come.

一個實用的規則：

• 如果你想讓動詞後面直接接一個 person（人），就用 tell。
• 如果你想讓它後面接一個 clause or quoted words（子句或引述的話），就用 say。

b) Speak 與 Talk

• speak = 較正式，用於 languages（語言）和 official speaking（正式發言）
• talk = 較非正式，用於 conversation and discussion（交談與討論）

比較：

• He can speak French.

  • 關於語言能力。

• The manager will speak at the meeting.

  • 關於正式發言。

• We talked about the meeting yesterday.

  • 關於非正式的交談。

• I need to speak to you.

  • 聽起來嚴肅或正式。

• Can we talk?

  • 聽起來親切又非正式：“I want to have a chat with you.”

7. 總結

你可以這樣理解這四個動詞：

• say

  • 焦點：the words / message（用字／訊息）
  • 句型：say (that) + clause、say + something

• tell

  • 焦點：who receives the information（誰接收到資訊）
  • 句型：tell + somebody + something、tell somebody that + clause、tell somebody to do something

• speak

  • 焦點：language ability（語言能力）、formal speaking（正式發言）
  • 句型：speak English、speak at a conference、speak about/on + topic、speak to/with somebody

• talk

  • 焦點：informal conversation（非正式交談）、discussion（討論）
  • 句型：talk to/with somebody、talk about + topic

如果你記住這些核心概念和句型，你在使用 say、tell、speak 和 talk 時犯的錯誤就會少得多。

8. 簡短練習

請試著用 say、tell、speak 或 talk 的正確形式完成下列句子：

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.

現在請把以下想法翻譯成完整的英語句子，並正確使用這四個動詞：

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.

你可以對照上面的規則來檢查答案。只要經常練習，選擇正確的動詞很快就會變得自然而然。