# Forum Other Languages English for Russians - Изучаем английский язык Learn English - Грамматика, переводы, словарный запас  talk over the phone

## alexsms

Is it correct to say: Talk over the phone, eg, I am talking over the phone now.... 
Or it must be 'I am talking *on* the phone'?

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## Hanna

No, both sound fine. 
Talking over the phone is maybe a bit more "business-like" or formal, and it implies that you spoke about a particular topic, perhaps. 
Teenagers might not use "over the phone" when they spoke about something, but adults might. 
"Mr Jones and I discussed this matter *over* the phone yesterday". 
"Jim and I talked *on* the phone yesterday".  
You can also say "chatted on the phone" - then it means two people who know each other well, probably female, talked for a while on the phone.

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## Throbert McGee

Hanna is basically correct, but I would add that "*over* the phone" generally tends to emphasize that the conversation was NOT "in person / face-to-face," or by email, or by snail mail, or by two-way radio, or by Skype, or by telepathy, etc. -- it was *по телефону*. So "over the phone" is often used in answer to a question about the _method of communication_: 
"I finally reached an agreement with Mr. Jones about the business contract yesterday."
"Oh, did you have a lunch meeting with him?" _(i.e., "did you speak in-person" or "did you talk face-to-face")_
"No, I invited him to lunch, but he's traveling out of town -- so we spoke over the phone." 
It would be rather unusual to say "I'm talking over the phone right now" as a present-tense construction -- I mean, how often is it necessary to emphasize, "I'm using *the telephone as a method of communication* right now?" But if you say "I'm talking *on* the phone now," the meaning is more like "Be quiet, don't bother me, I'm speaking to someone else." 
Of course, "I'm talking *over* the phone right now" could be an answer to a question such "Are you chatting with your friend in Australia *by IM*?" -- "No, I'm talking to him *over the phone* right now, long distance -- and paying by the minute!!" Again, "over" is used here because "the phone" is being compared/contrasted with a different form of communication, in this case Instant Messaging.

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## alexsms

Thanks, Throbert! Fantastic explanation!

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