SPEAK OF vs SPEAK ABOUT

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โ€˜He cried when she spoke of Oliver.โ€™
In this sentence, what does the preposition โ€˜ofโ€™ mean? Did she speak to Oliver or she spoke about Oliver to someone else?

โ€˜People spoke of their fear as the flood water rose.โ€™ In this sentence,ย  I also want to know the meaning of โ€˜ofโ€™. Thank you.

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Speak of and speak about mean very similar things, but thereโ€™s a slight difference.

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  • โ€˜She cried when she spoke of Oliver.โ€™ Yes, it means she was talking about Oliver, but the preposition OF signals that she gave some specific details, not just a general impression.

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When you speak of something, itโ€™s usually describing something definite that you know/witnessed.

  • โ€˜People spoke of their fear as the flood water rose.โ€™ means they described in detail how they felt on that particular occasion.

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When you speak about something, itโ€™s usually a more general discussion.

  • โ€˜We spoke about fear.โ€™ means that we shared our opinions and experiences regarding fear in general.

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Letโ€™s see the two uses in one context:

  • โ€˜Amy Cuddy speaks about body language in her famous TED Talk. She spoke of the importance of first impressions.โ€™ย 

It means that the general topic of her talk was body language and that she also mentioned one specific thing: the importance of first impressions.

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Thereโ€™s a similar difference you may notice in the use of โ€˜think ofโ€™ vs โ€˜think aboutโ€™.

  • What do you think of Tim? meaning: whatโ€™s your opinion of him?
  • I keep thinking about Tim. meaning: heโ€™s on my mind, but itโ€™s not a specific thought/opinion

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*โ€˜Speaking of somethingโ€™ is an expression you can also use to relate to a subject thatโ€™s being discussed:

  • Speaking of TED Talks, have you seen the one about global warming?
  • Speaking of global warming, did you know that the global temperature has increased by over 0.7 degrees Celsius over the last century?

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Read more:
Difference Between โ€œTalk to meโ€ and โ€œTalk with meโ€!
How to Speak English Fluently? 2 Unusual Tips
How to THINK in English while Speaking

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