Grammar question here...don't attempt to answer unless you're an expert.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I asked my English teacher this question a while back, but he danced around the question by not giving me an answer. I don't think he knew the answer and was trying to sound professional by not being wrong ...since he didn't answer it, he couldn't have been wrong.

Lets see if ya'all know the answer to this question:

Which question is more appropriate:

1. May I speak with Johnny?
2. May I talk to Johnny?

The scenario is me trying to reach someone named Johnny by phone.

 

[S O F I]

Well, if you'd like some answers, I suggest you edit the thread title.

 

[LesanePCrooks96]

I asked my English teacher this question a while back, but he danced around the question by not giving me an answer. I don't think he knew the answer and was trying to sound professional by not being wrong ...since he didn't answer it, he couldn't have been wrong.

Lets see if ya'all know the answer to this question:

Which question is more appropriate:

1. May I speak with Johnny?
2. May I talk to Johnny?

The scenario is me trying to reach someone named Johnny by phone.

Neither is correct. the appropriate wording would be

"May I speak to Johnny. Otherwise, you would be inquiring whether or not you could speak, in addition to him.
Ex. "May I speak with Johnny at the hearing"



hope this clears things up. pz

 

[Cheesyphily16]

Yea... may i speak to johnny

 

[Saint33]

Don forget to say please

 

[bigmack]

first one is more appropriate.

may and speak are more formal IMO. its more appropriate to use "may i speak" than "may i talk"

and "may i speak with" is correct, you dont say may i speak to. again,formality plays a role here. use "to" "with talk" and not with "speak"

 

[Amara]

Neither is correct. the appropriate wording would be

"May I speak to Johnny. Otherwise, you would be inquiring whether or not you could speak, in addition to him.
Ex. "May I speak with Johnny at the hearing"

I dunno.... "speak to" seems to imply a lack of conversational interplay between himself and Johnny...sounds like Pennypacker just wants to speak, without Johnny speaking back, know what I mean? Whereas "speak with" implies conversation stemming from both parties.

Talk to/speak to sound to me more modern, and less formal than speak with. But hey, I'm no expert Pennypacker.

 

[cookies]

the thread title is slightly misleading since i could have figured this out and i failed english

 

[Zero Cool]

May I speak with Johnny. Although why such questions even enter your head...

 

[not really ken]

Neither is correct. the appropriate wording would be

"May I speak to Johnny. Otherwise, you would be inquiring whether or not you could speak, in addition to him.
Ex. "May I speak with Johnny at the hearing"



hope this clears things up. pz

"May I speak to Jonny"? Is still the same as what PP asked. Becasue this is also an enquiry asking whether I can speak to him or not. That's how the question would be posed though. It would be polite to ask permission.

PennyPacker is a professional, these kiunds of things bother him more than the average man

 

[Illuminattile]

I dunno.... "speak to" seems to imply a lack of conversational interplay between himself and Johnny...sounds like Pennypacker just wants to speak, without Johnny speaking back, know what I mean? Whereas "speak with" implies conversation stemming from both parties.

Talk to/speak to sound to me more modern, and less formal than speak with. But hey, I'm no expert Pennypacker.

Exactly what I was going to say.

For example, if a college professor hosts a seminar in which he discusses a topic with students, in which both professor and student give input, he would be speaking with them. If he were to give a lecture, in which he speaks and they do not, he would be speaking to them.

I associate 'talking' with trivial chit-chat, gossip, whereas I associate 'speaking' with more important things.

 

[Amara]

^ Yeah, good example Illuminattile.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Well, if you'd like some answers, I suggest you edit the thread title.

The thread title shouldn't be offensive to anyone. It's only so that people wouldn't use "common sense" in trying to figure out the answer. Grammar has its own rules and common sense cannot always be used.

But hey, I'm no expert Pennypacker.

There's really no such thing as a grammar expert because even English teachers make mistakes, as in the case I gave in the first post. You should not be offended by what I said.

the thread title is slightly misleading since i could have figured this out and i failed english

This is the common sense I was refering to. It does not always apply in grammar. Someone who failed English, if it was because of improper grammar, could not answer this question without doing some research.

May I speak with Johnny. Although why such questions even enter your head...

I always try to perfect my grammar.

I'll go with what Amara, Illuminatille, and Zero said.

 

[Cooper]

May i converse with jonny?

I'd use with as it indicates a 2-way converstaion, as indicated before.

 

[LAZARU$]

"hey nicca,put johnny on the damn phone.Mac-damit!!"proper way

 

[Zero Cool]

"Nigga, put Jonny on the phone or I'm revoke your ghetto pass, hoe ass muthafucka."

Looks OK to me.

 

[Missy "C"]

I know I'm not exactly an expert on this topic, I remembered studying this so I cheked my books and I found something about it. I'll type it exactly as it apperas in the book:

Speak is a little formal and often gives the idea that one person is saying more than any others in a conversation: He wont listen to me - will you speak to him?/Could you speak a little louder please?

Talk is over twice as frequent in spoken English and usually suggests that two or more people are having a conversation: We stayed up all night talking. / Are you two talking about me?

In British English speak with and talk with often mean a longer more formal talk than speak to or talk to, but in American English they are used more generally.

So it's like what Amara and Illuminattile said, but anyway I'm gonna check one more book. Hope this helped.

 

[CalcuoCuchicheo]

"Nigga, put Jonny on the phone or I'm revoke your ghetto pass, hoe ass muthafucka."

Looks OK to me.

Really? Have you got a pillow case over your head?

You're white, remember that.

 

[Zero Cool]

Really? Have you got a pillow case over your head?

You're white, remember that.

The word Sarcasm must not be in your vocabularly. Read the post before mine

 

[Jokerman]

"With Johnny may I speak?" is the correct form.

btw, this is not a grammar question, it's a usage question, and not all usage is agreed on.