Shadowing Practice: The EASY Way to Learn and Remember: SAY / TELL / SPEAK / TALK - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.
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Say, tell, speak, and talk.
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What is the difference?
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How do we use them?
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How can we stop making mistakes with them?
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Is it, she said me, or she told me?
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Is it, I need to speak to you, or I need to talk to you?
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I promise you that in this lesson, I will make say, tell, speak and talk crystal clear for you.
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No more problems.
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And to help you, I have also created a free PDF to go with this lesson.
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It contains all of the information from this lesson, plus more examples and more information,
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and some secret interactive activities.
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Use these for further practice.
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If you would like to download the free PDF, just click on the link in the description box or scan the QR code there.
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Enter your name and your email address.
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Select your level of English.
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You sign up to my mailing list and the PDF will arrive directly in your inbox.
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After that, you will automatically receive my free weekly PDFs alongside my news,
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course updates and offers.
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It is a free service.
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You can unsubscribe at any time with one click.
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We will start with say and tell.
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First, First, I am not surprised that students confuse say and tell.
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They have very similar meanings, but we use them in different ways.
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Let's start with direct speech.
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And here we're focusing on written language.
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Which word would you use to complete this sentence?
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Said or told?
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I like tea, Aliza.
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You should use said.
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You can write said Aliza or Aliza said.
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You could also use a pronoun, but pronouns always come before said.
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She said, not said she.
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How about in this sentence?
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I like tea, Elisa, us.
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In that sentence, we use told.
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That's the past of tell.
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Tell is followed by an object pronoun.
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In this case, us.
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We tell somebody.
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Our message is directed at someone and we are transferring information to them.
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Say is usually used without a personal object after it.
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But if we want to add a personal object after say, we use to.
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For example, I like tea, Elisa said to us.
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We can't use an object pronoun directly after say.
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Elisa said us would be wrong.
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Now say without an object after it is much more common than tell in direct speech,
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because say usually focuses on the actual words spoken.
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We only use tell when someone is giving information, facts, or an order.
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Remember with tell, we are transferring a message.
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Now the good news is that we can pretty much always use say in direct speech.
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Here are some examples.
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That looks lovely, said Tim.
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We use say with exclamations like this.
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Good afternoon, everyone, said the teacher.
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We use say with greetings.
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Does anyone want a biscuit, said Roberto.
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We can use say with questions, although we often use ask to.
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I'll be back in a moment, said Polly, or Polly told us.
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This statement gives information so we can use say or tell.
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Stop talking, he said, or he told us.
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This is an order.
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To report someone's words in direct speech, when we're actually speaking to someone, we usually use say.
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For example, what did he say?
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He said stop talking.
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Now, let's move on to look at say and tell in indirect speech.
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Which is correct?
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Number one, Elisa said me that she likes tea.
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Or number two, Elisa told me that she likes tea.
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The second sentence is correct.
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Did you remember that we don't usually use an object pronoun after say?
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The correct version with say would be, Elisa said that she likes tea.
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That is optional after say and tell in indirect speech.
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Now, how about if we want to report this statement from earlier in the video?
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Good afternoon, everyone, said the teacher.
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Here are three options, which is correct.
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Number one, the teacher told everyone good afternoon.
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Number two, the teacher said everyone good afternoon.
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Or number three, the teacher said good afternoon to everyone.
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Have a think.
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Sentence three is correct.
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Remember we don't use tell for greetings.
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So number one doesn't sound right.
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And number two isn't correct because we can't use everyone directly after say has the pattern,
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say something to somebody.
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Here are a couple more examples like this.
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Don't say anything to anyone.
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I said hello to her.
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We tend to use this pattern with indefinite pronouns like anything and with greetings and certain exclamations like hello.
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I put more examples and other ways we use say
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and tell in indirect speech in the PDF that goes with this video.
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The link is in the description.
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Now, there are some common phrases in which we use tell without a personal object pronoun.
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Tell a story.
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Tell a joke.
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Tell a lie.
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We don't say a story, for example.
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We tell a story.
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We don't really say a joke.
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And we very rarely say a lie.
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We tell a story.
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We tell a joke.
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We tell a lie.
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Do you know any more phrases like these?
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Write them in the comments section if you do.
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We use certain nouns after say to form common collocations too.
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For example, say plus name.
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Did someone say my name?
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We also have not say plus a word.
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I won't say a word about the party.
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This means that you won't say anything.
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Before we move on, let's do a little quiz to test what you've learnt.
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Complete the sentences with a form of say or tell.
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Number one, did Elisa you that she likes tea?
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Number two, I love it when my parents' stories about their childhoods.
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And number three, it's wonderful to see you, James.
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Pause the video if you need time to think.
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Here are the answers.
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Tell in the first one, because we have the personal object pronoun, you.
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Tell again in the second, because we tell stories.
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And said in the third one, because it's an exclamation and there is no personal pronoun.
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Okay, let's focus on speak and talk now.
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These two verbs also cause a lot of confusion among my students.
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But I have good news for you.
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Speak and talk are very similar in meaning and we can often use either one.
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Now, having said that, fluent speakers will often choose one over the other in certain situations.
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And there are times when we only use one or the other.
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Let's look together.
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At the beginning of the video, I showed you these two sentences.
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I need to speak to you.
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I need to talk to you.
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I want you to think about what the difference is.
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The truth is that both are grammatically correct and there's very little difference between them.
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However, we often use speak in more formal situations.
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So with these sentences, perhaps you don't know the other person well, or you want to discuss something important.
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In that case, you would use speak.
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We use talk in more informal situations.
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Have you ever heard of the phrase small talk?
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Small talk.
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This is conversation about unimportant or very ordinary things.
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We don't say small speak.
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Here are some longer examples with speak and talk.
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I need to speak to you about the arrangements for next week's conference.
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This could be said at work, so it might be a little bit more formal.
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That's why we use speak.
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I need to talk to you about the surprise party for mum.
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Here you're probably talking to your sibling, your brother or sister.
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So we use the less formal talk.
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Here are two more examples for comparison.
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The presenter stopped speaking while I found my seat.
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This could be at the conference.
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You were late, how embarrassing.
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Or my children stopped talking when I walked into the room.
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This mum's children are planning a surprise party.
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Speak focuses on the person who is saying the words.
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The presenter spoke about the importance of good time management.
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Talk focuses on the speaker and at least one listener with the idea that there's a conversation.
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You often talk to someone to get advice or simply to be friendly.
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For example, I'm going to Uganda next week.
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I would love to talk to you about your time there.
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I want to have a conversation about it.
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Or I know you've been struggling recently.
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Do you want to talk about it?
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You might've noticed that I've been using the preposition to after speak and talk.
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To speak to somebody, to talk to somebody.
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We can also use another preposition, with.
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Speak with somebody, talk with somebody.
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To is more common in British English and with is more common in American English, but you will hear both.
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Use either.
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Okay, let's imagine you're on the telephone now and you are calling a company.
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How would you complete this dialogue?
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Speak or talk?
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Hello, may I?
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To Ahmed Osman, please.
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Who's?
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It's Carla Collins.
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So, we tend to use speak on the telephone, particularly in formal situations.
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So, in the first gap, we need speak.
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May I speak to Ahmed Osman?
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In less formal situations, you could use talk.
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For example, can I talk to Josh?
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In the second gap, we need speaking.
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Who's speaking.
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A possible alternative is who's calling.
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We do not say who's talking.
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Okay, the last thing that is really important for you to learn is which verb to use with languages.
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How would you complete this sentence?
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Speak or talk?
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I, English and Spanish.
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It's speak.
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We speak a language.
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I speak English and Spanish.
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Do you speak Arabic?
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Hiroshi speaks several languages.
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Okay.
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That is everything for today.
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I hope you enjoyed it.
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I hope you learned something.
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Now it's time to download the PDF that goes with this video.
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It has so much more information and there are the exercises to complete too.
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They are interactive.
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I think you will like them.
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The link for that is in the description box.
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I will see you soon for another lesson.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “The EASY Way to Learn and Remember: SAY / TELL / SPEAK / TALK”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: speak, example, pronoun, sentence, object. This video has 204 sentences and 1690 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:50. The speaker talks at a steady 122 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pronoun noun | /ˈpɹoʊ.naʊn/ | A part of speech that refers anaphorically to a noun or noun phrase, which cannot ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive… |
| exclamation noun | /ˌɛkskləˈmeɪʃn̩/ | A loud calling or crying out, for example as in surprise, pain, grief, joy, anger, etc. |
| greeting noun | /ˈɡɹiːtɪŋ/ | A conventional phrase used to start a letter or conversation or otherwise to acknowledge a person's arrival or presence. |
| indirect adjective | /ˌɪn.daɪˈɹɛkt/ | Not direct |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| preposition noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/ | Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense… |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| presenter noun | /pɹɪˈzɛntə(ɹ)/ | Someone who presents a broadcast programme; a compere or master of ceremonies. |
| interactive adjective | /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/ | Interacting with or communicating with and reacting to each other; influencing or having an effect on each other; acting or capable of acting on each other or… |
| biscuit noun | /ˈbɪs.kɪt/ | A small, flat, baked good which is either hard and crisp or else soft but firm; a cookie. |
| collocation noun | /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | The grouping or juxtaposition of things, especially words or sounds. |
| embarrass verb | /ɪmˈbæɹəs/ | To disrupt someone's composure or comfort with acting publicly or freely. |
| grammatically adverb | In a grammatical manner. | |
| indefinite adjective | /ɪnˈdɛfɪnɪt/ | Without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite. |
| unimportant adjective | /ˌʌnɪmˈpɔɹtənt/ | petty; not important or noteworthy |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How do we use them?
- How can we stop making mistakes with them?
- Is it, she said me, or she told me?
- Which word would you use to complete this sentence?
- Do you know any more phrases like these?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've been struggling · I've been using |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have also created · you've learnt · Have you ever heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is followed · is directed · could be said |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | options, which is · person who is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, can't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: exclamation /ˌɛkskləˈmeɪʃn̩/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, optional /ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/
- Long words — get the stress right: preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, interactive /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/, collocation /ˌkɑ.ləˈkeɪ.ʃən/, indefinite /ɪnˈdɛfɪnɪt/, unimportant /ˌʌnɪmˈpɔɹtənt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like pronoun, exclamation, greeting.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.