Prepositions after speak and talk

[Little man]

Hello and Happy New Year!

Could you possibly answer to my question? It is about some prepostions after to speak and to talk.

Firstly, speak/talk about or speak/talk of.
Longman dictionary of contemporary English says that talk of - is used in formal and literary context.
One site says that:
"When you speak of something, it’s usually describing something definite that you know/witnessed."
"When you speak about something, it’s usually a more general discussion."
So, is it true? I hope you will help me.

Secondly, speak/talk to or speak/talk with.
Practical English Usage says that speak/talk with - more American. I read also that preposition "with" implies more bidirectional talk whereas "to" implies monodirectional talk. I hope you will help me with this too.

Thank you in advance!

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Preosotions after speak and talk

Could you possibly answer to my question? It is about some prepositions after "to speak" and to talk".

Firstly, speak/talk about or speak/talk of.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English says that "talk of" [no hyphen] is used in formal and literary contexts.

Note some corrections above, including the correct spelling of preposition.

Capitalize the main words of titles.

Mark text you're discussing by surrounding it in quotation marks.

Your reference book and site are correct about speak of versus speak about.

I'm American. Speak with is natural in American English. Again, your reference is correct about the nuance of the choice between with and ​to.

 

[Little man]

Re: Preosotions after speak and talk

Thank you. English has several pairs of words that make me a bit confused. For example: think about/of, dream about/of, hear about/of and so forth. With your explanation (and correction, of course) I will be able to manage this topic someday.

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Preosotions after speak and talk

The phrasal verbs sub-forum lists a great many of these challenging constructions.

 

[emsr2d2]

Note that I have corrected the typo in your title. I couldn't bring myself to keep looking at "preosotions"!

 

[Little man]

I am very sorry, I mistyped it because i'm so careless.

 

[emsr2d2]

I am very sorry. I mistyped it because I'm so careless.

There's no need to apologise. Simply make sure you proofread your titles and posts carefully before submitting them.