Meaning & use
spoke
Last updated
“spoke” is a form of “speak”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Past tense of speak: said words aloud, or talked to someone.
Grammar: Past tense only; the past participle is spoken: she spoke yesterday, but she has spoken.
Patterns
- spoke to someone
- spoke about something
- spoke at something
She spoke quietly so she would not wake the baby.
The manager spoke to every member of the team.
He spoke three languages by the age of ten.
nouncountable
One of the thin rods that join the center of a wheel to its rim.
Grammar: Countable: a bicycle wheel has dozens of spokes.
Patterns
- the spokes of a wheel
A broken spoke made the bicycle wheel wobble.
He ran a cloth along each spoke of the cart wheel.
The spokes flashed in the sunlight as we sped downhill.
Word forms
| plural of noun | spokes |
|---|---|
| base form of verb | speak |
| past participle of verb | spoken |
| -ing form of verb | speaking |
Common combinations
- spoke softly
- The nurse spoke softly to the frightened child.
- spoke out
- Several residents spoke out against the new road.
- spoke up
- He finally spoke up during the meeting.
- spoke to
- I spoke to my landlord this morning.
- bicycle spoke
- He replaced a bent bicycle spoke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- talked
- Talked suggests a more casual, two-way exchange, while spoke can describe a formal address or one person's words.
- said
- Said needs the words themselves or a report of them, whereas spoke can stand alone.
- addressed
- Addressed is more formal and means spoke to a group or audience.
Opposites
Word family
- speak verb
- base form
- spoken adjective
- said aloud, as in spoken English
- speaker noun
- a person who speaks, or a loudspeaker
- speech noun
- talk, or a formal talk to an audience
- spokesperson noun
- someone who speaks for a group
Commonly confused: spoke or spoken?
spoke vs spoken
Spoke is the simple past and spoken is the past participle, so it is I spoke yesterday but I have spoken.
Practice
Yesterday the mayor ___ to the crowd outside the town hall.
Choose one answer.
Yesterday needs the simple past, which is spoke. Spoken is only a past participle and would need has or have before it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spoke”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.