Intermediate Vocabulary

  1) Differences between "Say" and "Tell"

Use "say" to speak in general about something that has been said by someone.

"Say" is often used to report what someone else has said. 

Example: John said  (what?) he had a good time in Las Vegas.

                  The teacher often says (what?) we need to study more.

Important note:   "Say" refers to any type of speech and is therefore more general in nature. 

Use "tell" to mean that someone has instructed or informed someone else of something. "Tell" is often used to report what someone else has told a specific person. 

Example:    Angela told (whom?) them to hurry up.

                 Our friends told (whom?) us about their experiences in Germany.

2) Differences between "Speak" and "Talk" 

There is little difference between "speak" and "talk" and they are often used interchangeably (взаимозаменяемо) .

"Speak" is often used when someone is speaking to a group of people in general."Speak" is also used with languages.

Example:  Peter speaks both German and Italian.

                   She spoke about her problems at work.

Important note:   "Speak" tends to be used in more formal situations.

Verb Forms:   Speak - Spoke - Spoken - Speaking  

"Talk" is used to express informal conversation between a limited number of people. 

Example:   My wife and I talked about our child's future.

                  She continued talking to Jack after I left the room. 

Important note:  "Talk" is often used with the preposition "about" when introducing the subject of conversation, and "to" when introducing the conversational partner. 

Verb Forms:  Talk - Talked - Talked - Talking 

Word Formation 

Adverb Formation (Образование наречий)

Adverbs are usually formed by adding " -ly"  to an adjective.

For example: quiet - quietly (тихий - тихо), careful - carefully (осторожный - осторожно), careless - carelessly  (беспечный - беспечно). (to be continued)