「tell、talk、speak、say」の違い (part 3)

These days I've had to take care of a lot of business. Notice how "speak" is used.

× As a result, I have had to talk Japanese a lot. <- don't use "talk" for a language
◯ As a result, I have had to speak Japanese a lot.

× I told a government officer yesterday. <- "tell" needs some content
△ I talked to a government officer yesterday. <- this is OK, but it's a little bit too light. My conversation was kind of serious.
◯ I spoke to a government officer yesterday. <- best

× I was filling out a form, and he spoke to me about some points to be careful about. <- "about" doesn't feel direct enough, and using "about" twice feels strange here
◯ I was filling out a form, and he told me some points to be careful about.

× Can you speak what this is a photo of? <- the action of speaking isn't important; the content is...
◯ Can you tell me what this is a photo of?

More in the next post...