English Language & Usage Asked on December 15, 2020
I was told that "speaking of" should refer to a previously mentioned subject and should trigger a change of the subject. For example:
- Are you going to chip in on a joint gift for Frank? He has a birthday tomorrow.
- Do I have to?
- You don’t have to if you don’t feel like doing so.
- Well, I feel like smoking now… but speaking of chipping in, I will chip in 10 dollars. (WRONG)
I was told that "speaking of chipping in" is not used correctly here because it continues the discussion of the previous subject. It would be OK if it started a new subject slightly related to the matter of chipping in. For example:
- Well, I feel like smoking now… but speaking of chipping in, who even made it up? Isn’t it just another useless concept?
Now I wonder what if I used "talking of chipping in"? Would it be OK to continue with the subject mentioned earlier in that case?
- Are you going to chip in on a joint gift for Frank? He has a birthday tomorrow.
- Do I have to?
- You don’t have to if you don’t feel like doing so.
- Well, I feel like smoking now… but TALKING of chipping in, I will chip in 10 dollars. (CORRECT? or WRONG?)
Both 'speaking of...' and 'talking of...' introduce a new subject related to the previous one.
Suppose two of you have been talking about a work colleague, which reminds you of another colleague who has been ill. You might say "Speaking of [your workplace], have you heard how Joe Bloggs is?"
Answered by Kate Bunting on December 15, 2020
Get help from others!
Recent Answers
Recent Questions
© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP