一个老生常谈的话题:英语要学好,开口最重要。
不过,这个“说”英语,到底是Say,speak,talk,
还是tell呢?
你要是问“元芳你怎么看”,元芳不会知道。
但是华生知道。
SAY
释义:To express an idea, feeling, or thought – with words or gestures - you SAY it.
say描述的是说话的内容,比如“他说了他一定会来”。如果要表达和谁说了什么的意思,要说“say to”。
例句:
1. He said I can’t go.
(他说我不能走)
2. Without saying a word, he made his feelings quite clear.
(没说一个字,他的感受十分清楚)
3. “Don’t cry,” she said.
(“别哭。”她说)
4. Anything he says is not true. If his lips are moving, he’s lying.
他说的任何事都不是真的。
只要他一动嘴,就是在撒谎
5. I don’t know why she left, as she didn’t really say.
(我不知道为什么她走了,因为她没说什么)
SPEAK
释义:To talk to someone about something
与say描述说话内容不同,speak描述的是说话的动作,或者是单方面的谈话。比如“他没有说话”,“他向我说话”。Speak还有演讲的意思,“说某种语言”也是用speak。
例句:
1. Hello, may I speak to Jim Smith?
(你好,我能和Jim Smith说话吗)
2. We had a huge fight and stopped speaking to each other for a long time.
(我们大吵了一架然后互相沉默了很久)
3. Excuse me, can you speak Chinese?
(打扰一下,你会说中文吗)
4. Robert spoke at the teachers' annual convention.
(Robert在教师年度大会上演讲了)
5. What language are they speaking? Turkish, I think.
(他们在说什么语言?我想是土耳其语)
TALK
释义:As part of a conversation, you TALK to others
虽说与speak的用法差不多,但speak是指单方面说话,而talk则是两者之间互相的、非正式的交谈。
例句:
1. Bill Gates is talking to him.
(Bill Gates在和他说话)
2. English people love to talk about the weather.
(英格兰人喜欢谈论天气)
3. I’m not in the mood to talk to him.
(我现在不想跟他说话)
4. My throat hurts, so I’m trying not to talk too much today.
(我喉咙不舒服,所以我尽量不讲太多话)
5. I like talking to Helena.
(我喜欢跟Helena对话)
TELL
释义:When someone communicates information, they TELL you something – a story, their feelings, etc.
简单地说,tell是告诉的意思,也就是把一些信息传递出去,让某个人接收到这个信息。另外,tell还有“辨识”的意思。
例句:
1. Tell Jack to attend the meeting.
(告诉Jack参加会议)
2. Tell Jack the meeting is canceled.
(告诉Jack会议取消了)
3. Mom, tell me a bedtime story.
(妈妈,给我讲一个睡前故事)
4. Mary told a story to her son.
(Mary对她的儿子讲了个故事)
5. So, now can you tell the difference between SAY, SPEAK, TALK and TELL?
(所以,现在你可以分辨say、speak、talk和tell
之间的区别了吗)
Say 是“说了某某话”;
Speak 是说话的动作,或“向某人说话”;
Talk 也是说话的动作,但多是“两人或以上互相对话”;
Tell 是“告诉”的意思,还有“辨识”的意思。
现在,你得到了这些有关“说”的英语学习知识,
你打算如何“说”给你的朋友听呢?