AAAmerican Accent US

talk over

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: talk OVER. Saying “TALK over” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “talk” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “talk over” is said “tal-kover”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

What it means

  1. To discuss something thoroughly before deciding.

    • “Let's talk it over before we commit.”
    • “They talked over the offer for a week.”

    Similar: discuss, go over

The particle logic

over

Something is examined from above, done again, or moved across.

Listen + practice

Hear “talk over” spoken naturally

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More TALK phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

talk into

To persuade someone to do something.

talk out of

To persuade someone not to do something.

talk back

To reply rudely to someone in authority.

talk down to

To speak to someone as if they were less intelligent.

talk over — meaning, examples & how to say it