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# speak

«speak» in Mova's school dictionary: **To say words out loud; to talk: "Speak clearly."** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (speak, speaks, spoke, spoken, speaking)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To say words out loud; to talk: "Speak clearly." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#m1)

2) To know and use a language: "She speaks French." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#m2)

3) To give a talk: "speak to the class". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#m3)

4) To have a conversation: "Can I speak to your mum?" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In school: speaking and listening skills, speak in turn, speak clearly. In safety and feelings: speak up if something is wrong. Phrases: speak up, speak out, speak to, so to speak, generally speaking, speaking of.

### examples

- Please speak more slowly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x1)
- He speaks English and Irish. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x2)
- Speak up if someone is bullying you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x3)
- May I speak to your teacher? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x4)
- She spoke to the whole school. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x5)
- The baby can't speak yet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x6)
- Speak quietly in the library. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x7)
- Actions speak louder than words. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x8)
- Speak but one word to me." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/#x9)

### note

Past "spoke", past participle "spoken". "Speak" is a bit more formal than "talk". You "speak a language" (not "talk a language").

### In the corpora

- [Some relatives get on, some do not, and a few stop speaking for years.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/17-gran-cousins-and-the-whole-family/2/)
- [To help someone with poor hearing, face them and speak clearly, without shouting.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/22-sore-backs-glasses-and-feeling-low/10/)
- [A free country gives people many freedoms, like speaking and voting, but freedom still has limits set by law.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/33-neighbours-the-council-rules-and-fairness/20/)
- [Newsreaders speak slowly and look serious about deaths to show respect for the people who died and their families.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/51-scary-news-wars-disasters-and-how-to-talk-about-them/18/)
- [Translation tools help families who speak other languages understand letters, but they can make mistakes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/18-cars-doctors-translators/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «speak» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/speak/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.