"She was talking at them"
"She was talking to them"
My first language is Spanish, and I can't find a nice explanation for this. Thanks in advance!
2007-08-01 15:21:34 · 12 answers · asked by Emi~ 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
This is tricky for spanish speakers! In English, we almost always say "She was talking to them" (Les hablaba). To talk "at" someone suggests that they are not listening or paying attention, or that you are speaking to hear yourself. www.wordreference.com translates "talk at" as "escuchar a si mismo", which I suppose is accurate. I would agree with the above that "talk at" is informal English.
Saludos!
2007-08-01 16:06:01 · answer #1 · answered by mthompson828 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first implies that she was lecturing them or something along those lines, and they weren't paying attention or didn't care. In other words, she was yelling at them, minus the loud part of yelling. =) It is not, however, proper English.
The second one is proper English and means simply that she was talking with (or "to", both mean the same thing) them
2007-08-01 17:55:34 · answer #2 · answered by funkified_princess 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first sentence is wrong because of 'at'. 'at and 'to' are prepositions and there is not any intelligent way of learning them. They are one of the most confusing things in the languages we learn. The correct preposition in these sentence depends on the verb which is 'talk' and it takes the preposition 'to'. I hope I was helpful.
2007-08-01 16:06:44 · answer #3 · answered by Esmeralda 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first, though colloquially used by some, is not correct English usage. In English, she can talk either "with" or "to" them, but not "at" them.
2007-08-01 15:25:07 · answer #4 · answered by Girl of the Forest 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
"the week before" makes "has already gone" incorrect. Use "he has" for something that is presently completed. "He has finished his homework." Use "He had" for something completed in the past. "He had finished his homework a week ago." Having said that, if you said either 1) or 2), people would understand you and not think you were speaking totally off the mark.
2016-05-20 04:53:21 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The different is that the second one is correct. People speak with or to people, not at them.
(But you can yell at someone.)
2007-08-01 15:25:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 2nd is grammatically correct. The first is not.
2007-08-01 15:28:55 · answer #7 · answered by bella36 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first one is not "proper" english.
The second one is "proper"
If you say them out loud- you can tell the difference.
2007-08-01 15:29:21 · answer #8 · answered by eurogirl120 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"She was talking to them" is correct.
"She was talking at them" implies they were not listening, and that she was not saying anything meaningful.
In this case "to" implies a dialogue, a linkage, but "at" implies a single direction of action.
2007-08-01 15:25:11 · answer #9 · answered by kent_shakespear 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the 2nd one means that you are talking WITH them,
2007-08-01 15:26:05 · answer #10 · answered by igottadrive2001 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋