msn

[Unregistered]

Hi there,
Please proofread the following sentences:

1. Let's talk on the phone.
2. Let's talk on the msn.
3. Let's talk on sms.
4. There are a lot of messages in my msn.
5. In my sms, there are a lot of messages waited for reply.

tks
pete

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi there,
Please proofread the following sentences:

1. Let's talk on the phone. Correct.
2. Let's talk on [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]msn[/STRIKE] MSN. Incorrect - "the" is not required.
3. Let's talk on [STRIKE]sms[/STRIKE]SMS. Incorrect. Let's talk by SMS/text.
4. There are a lot of messages in my [STRIKE]msn[/STRIKE]MSN. ??MSN is the software. You wouldn't normally say "in MSN". Perhaps "in my inbox" or "I have a lot of MSN messages".
5. In my sms, there are a lot of messages waited for reply. Again, we don't say "in SMS" (it stands for Short Message System), it would be "I have a lot of SMSs/texts which I need to reply to" or something similar.

tks
pete

See above.

 

[Barb_D]

You don't "talk" on things other than the phone (or Skype, I guess).

Let's talk on the phone.
Let's chat on MSN.
Text me.

I have a lot of off-line messages waiting for me on my MSN account.


I don't use "sms" -- I use "text" so you will need someone else to tell you about that usage.

 

[emsr2d2]

You don't "talk" on things other than the phone (or Skype, I guess).

Let's talk on the phone.
Let's chat on MSN.
Text me.

I have a lot of off-line messages waiting for me on my MSN account.


I don't use "sms" -- I use "text" so you will need someone else to tell you about that usage.

It's true that you don't physically "talk" by text or by MSN messenger, but I think these days that so many people hold many of their "conversations" in writing, not by speaking, that it has passed into everyday speech. I regularly say "I was talking to him on Facebook chat", "I talked to my dad on Messenger the other day" etc. Both of these involve typed conversations, not spoken.

 

[Barb_D]

Well maybe so.
But I wouldn't.
I was chatting with him on Facebook.
I was chatting with him on Yahoo.
I was texting with him the whole time he was in Toronto.

Because Skype (and now that I think about it, Yahoo does too, so probably the others all do now) does allow actual verbal conversations via Webcam and mike, I would reserve "talk" for a speaking exchange.

 

[peter123]

Hi there,
How about these:

1. Let's me text you later by phone today.
2. What are differences among 'talk', 'speak' and 'chat'?
tks
pete

 

[emsr2d2]

Well maybe so.
But I wouldn't.
I was chatting with him on Facebook.
I was chatting with him on Yahoo.
I was texting with him the whole time he was in Toronto.

Because Skype (and now that I think about it, Yahoo does too, so probably the others all do now) does allow actual verbal conversations via Webcam and mike, I would reserve "talk" for a speaking exchange.

To play devil's advocate here, why would you be happy to use "chat" but not "talk"? Technically, they both involve holding a voice conversation!

This may be a AmE vs BrE difference too, but in your last sentence you say "I was texting with him...." I would always say "I was texting him" or "We were texting each other....."

 

[Barb_D]

Because "chat" has been part of the vernacular of "lived, interactive typed conversation via computers " since back when I was in college, when we used a chisel to make marks on the screen to communicate. Even then, we used "chat" but not "talk" for these conversations. IRC - Internet Relay Chat, I believe. Maybe if IRC was IRT I wouldn't hold this distinction.


For me, texted "with" him implies an interactive conversation, but I have no problem with either of your versions and would use them without a lot of thought about nuances of meaning. I just typed out the first thing that came to my mind.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi there,
How about these:

1. Let's me text you later by phone today.

a) It's "Let me", not "Let's me"
b) If you say "text" you don't need to specify by phone. Texts are always sent by mobile phone so it's redundant.
c) Word order: "....later by phone today" should be "by phone, later today".

The sentence should read "Let me text you later today".

2. What are differences among 'talk', 'speak' and 'chat'?

The differences are fairly subtle. They all mean using your voice (usually!) and engaging in conversation with other people. Chat is more casual.

tks
pete

See above.

 

[peter123]

Hi there,
So can I use speak in the following sentences?


1. I was speaking with him on Facebook.
2. I was speaking with him on Yahoo.
3. I was speaking/talking/chatting with him through webcam.
4. I was speaking/talking/chatting with him on a web mike.

tks
pete