spoken
- 01 B1 Intermediate
adj.relating to talking rather than writing.
adj.relating to or expressed through oral communication as opposed to written text.
Simple“The exam has both a written part and a spoken part.”
In context“The professor emphasized that spoken language often follows different grammatical conventions than formal academic writing.”
UsageUsually placed before the noun it describes.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.having a specific style or way of talking.
adj.characterised by a specified manner of speaking; almost always used with an adverb.
Simple“She is a very soft-spoken person who never raises her voice.”
In context“The plain-spoken diplomat was respected for his directness, even when his messages were difficult for the committee to hear.”
UsageTypically appears as the second part of a hyphenated compound adjective.
Synonyms - 03 A2 Elementary
v.the past participle of 'speak', used after 'have' or 'be'.
v.the past participle of the irregular verb 'speak'.
Simple“I have already spoken to the manager about the problem.”
In context“By the time the meeting concluded, every member of the board had spoken their mind regarding the proposed merger.”
PitfallI have spoke to him already. I have spoken to him already.The past participle 'spoken' must be used with the auxiliary verb 'have' in perfect tenses, not the simple past 'spoke'.
Usage spoken openly
Morphologically spoke + -n.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.