What is correct ""I would like to talk to you in private" or "I would like to talk with you in private"

Question

What is correct ""I would like to talk to you in private" or "I would like to talk with you in private"

Answer 1

There are subtle differences.

"I would like to talk to you in private" means that you want to tell the person something. (You are talking at them not with them)

"I would like to talk with you in private" means that you would like to discuss something with them.

The second example is much more polite, especially if you exchanged the word 'talk' with the word 'speak'. 'I would like to speak with you in private'.

I agree, a tiny, tiny difference. Hardly noticable. - annierats, Mar 24, 2014

Estoy de acuerdo tambien- but in my opinion the difference is significant. - ian-hill, Mar 24, 2014

Very true. :) - rac1, Mar 24, 2014

Answer 2

Both of these will work perfectly.

Thanks for your answer, for you what is more common? - tomasxenix, Mar 24, 2014

"I would like to talk with you", sounds slightly more formal. - 00ffada9, Mar 24, 2014

I would say talk to you. Not perhaps strictly correct english but it's how my friends and me would speak. - GabriellaMonique, Mar 24, 2014

Answer 3

Both are absolutely correct my frend .. but ,,"talk to you" sounds better to me

in my country ,, most would say ,, talk to you .. but talk with you is also acceptable - 00b055e0, Mar 24, 2014

Hi jimmy, I'm afraid we disagree. :-) - 007c5fc1, Mar 24, 2014

Answer 4

I accept to talk with suggests more of a discussion and it is becoming more common in the UK, but generally when I hear talk 'with' I think American!

That's funny because I'm American and I almost always say "talk to" not with, which so more formal and more UK! - acshepard, Mar 25, 2014

Answer 5

From an English teacher’s perspective “talk to” implies a short one way conversation, where as “talk with” suggests more of a two way conversation.

Making a small change we can change the attitude of what we are communicating. I don’t like being “spoken to”, but I enjoy “speaking with”.

By substituting “with” for “to” the whole demeanor of the phrase changes. Of course tone of voice and body language has a major impact; but I’ll leave those factors out of the current discussion.

Reference: "Up Ahead Coaching"

ohh, I did not know this, thanks for this nice answer ,, but do people really differentiate between the two in real life situations..like would it not be polite enough if I say ,, may I talk to u for a minute - 00b055e0, Mar 25, 2014

Answer 6

There is a slight difference between the two although they are often used interchangeably.

Talk to you - I would like to tell you something in private.

Talk with you - I would like to have a conversation with you in private.

Answer 7

A mi parecer, no hay ninguna diferencia. Los dos son correctas y sirven. Lo que dicen los otros, que una suena más cortés o una indica una conversación, puede ser cierto pero en realidad todo eso es como la psicología de un idioma y la verdad no importa. Eres un beginner, lo que importa es que sepas inglés "conversational" o inglés familiar. Los dos sirven, y si quieres asegurarte de que parezcas cortés, usa "please."

If you want to know what sounds more common to me, then I would say that I probably hear both equally. Honestly, I can't even differentiate a time in my head where I have heard one over the other. It's like the same thing to me.

Answer 8

I would use "I would like to talk with you in private" because this indicates that you will be talking with the person as conversations are usually between atleast two people.

You could say "I would like to talk to you in private" if you wanted. It sounds like you really need to pass information to that person. It may be perceived as a one way conversation so be careful with your tone of voice as well.