Talk to vs Talk with

“Talk to someone, or talk with someone?”

…is a common question asked by learners of English.

You will be pleased to hear that the difference is small and easy to understand.

To learn more, read on.

 

Talk to somebody

Talk to is the usual, correct way of saying that you are having a conversation with someone.

Yesterday I talked to my mum. I’ll talk to you in the morning. There wasn’t enough time to talk to everyone. Do you also hate talking to people over the phone?

 

Talk with somebody

Talk withis another way of saying that you and someone else are having a conversation.

However, we would usually only use “talk with” when a conversation is a formal one.

My teacher talked with my dad about my behaviour. Police talked with the defendant. Talk with your GP to see what treatment is available to you. This afternoon, the Prime Minister talked with his ministers.

 

Differences

I’ve noticed that people like to overthink the two phrases.

Do not do that.

There is zero difference in meaning between the two.

In the real world, you can say “talk to somebody” and “talk with somebody” and you will always be understood. The meaning will always be “to have a conversation with someone”, no matter which preposition you choose.

The only possible difference is in the formality of your conversation.

 

Summary

• “Talk to someone” means to have a conversation with someone,
• “Talk with someone” has the same meaning, but is usually reserved for talking about formal conversations.