verb
1 have a conversation
ADVERB
▪ briefly
▪
We spoke briefly on the phone.
▪ at length
▪ hardly
▪
Ben hardly spoke to me all evening.
VERB + SPEAK
▪ want to
▪ refuse to
▪
The president refused to ~ to the waiting journalists.
▪ dare (to)
▪
No one had ever dared to ~ to him like that before.
PREPOSITION
▪ about , to
▪
I need to ~ to Joseph about this matter.
▪ with ( esp. AmE )
▪
Can I ~ with you for a minute?
PHRASES
▪ be on ~ing terms (with sb)
▪
We are still on ~ing terms after the argument.
▪ a/the chance to ~ , a/the opportunity to ~
▪
I didn't get a chance to ~ to him.
▪ not be ~ing (to sb)
▪
Ed and Dave aren't ~ing at the moment.
▪ ~ing of …
▪
Speaking of Brett, why isn't he here?
2 use your voice to say sth
ADVERB
▪ loudly
▪ quietly , softly
▪ clearly
▪
You must ~ loudly and clearly on the stage.
▪ slowly
▪ calmly
▪ briefly
▪ at length
▪ suddenly
▪ hardly
▪ eloquently , movingly
▪
She spoke eloquently about the need for action.
▪ lovingly , soothingly , warmly
▪ disparagingly , harshly , sharply , sternly
▪ authoritatively , forcefully
▪ earnestly
▪ coherently , intelligibly , meaningfully
▪ freely , openly , publicly
▪ directly
▪
The main character ~s directly into the camera.
▪ boldly
▪ hesitantly
VERB + SPEAK
▪ be able to , be unable to , can (hardly)
▪
She was so moved she could hardly ~.
▪ be allowed to
▪ begin to , open your mouth to
▪
She opened her mouth to ~ and found she couldn't.
▪ try to
▪ not trust yourself to
▪
He nodded, not trusting himself to ~.
▪ hear sb
▪
I heard him ~ at the debating society.
▪ invite sb to
▪
She was invited to ~ at a Harvard conference.
PREPOSITION
▪ about , on
▪
She ~s on women's issues.
▪ against
▪
He spoke out against mismanagement.
▪ for , on behalf of
▪
I ~ for all my colleagues.
▪
I ~ on behalf of many thousands of women.
▪ in favour/favor of
▪
She spoke in favour/favor of the new tax.
▪ of
▪
He ~s very warmly of you.
▪ to
▪
He will be ~ing to history students about the causes of war.
PHRASES
▪ the ability to ~
▪
He lost his ability to ~.
▪ have the courage to ~
▪
They had the courage to ~ the truth.
▪ the right to ~
▪
Everyone should have the right to ~ their mind.
▪ ~ from experience
▪
I'm ~ing from experience, having been there often.
3 know a language
ADVERB
▪ fluently , well
▪
He ~s German fluently.
VERB + SPEAK
▪ be able to , can
▪ be unable to , cannot
▪ learn to
▪
the benefits of learning to ~ a foreign language
▪ teach sb to
PREPOSITION
▪ in
▪
Would you prefer it if we spoke in French?
PHRASES
▪ the ability to ~ sth
▪
The ability to ~ another language is a valued skill.
Speak is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ immigrant
Speak is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ blasphemy , ↑ dialect , ↑ jargon , ↑ language , ↑ sentence , ↑ tongue , ↑ truth , ↑ word