Lesson
This phrasal verb feature focuses on phrasal verbs we use when talking about speaking and conversation. Obviously, using "tell" or "say" or "speak", etc. is absolutely correct when relating conversations.However, if you want to stress HOW the person said something, phrasal verbs come in handy (idiom=be useful).go on to continue to talk about a subject after the interest of the listener has been exhausted.
harp on inf. to repeatedly talk about a certain subject
ramble on to talk for a long time about something which is not very interesting to the other people in the conversation
rabbit on (British) as above
run on (American) as above
Speaking Quickly
rattle off to say a list or impressive number of facts very quickly
reel off inf. as above
whip off inf. (American) as above
Interrupting
butt in to rudely enter another conversation
chip in to add a specific point to a conversation
Speaking suddenly
blurt out to say something suddenly, usually without thinking
come out with to say something suddenly
Contributing
come up with to add a new idea to a conversation
Not Speaking
shut up to stop talking, often used as an imperative (very rude)
break off suddenly stop speaking
clam up to refuse to speak or become silent during a conversation
dry up run out of ideas of interesting comments, finish speaking because you don't know what to say next or have forgotten what you would like to say
Speaking Rudely
talk at to talk to someone without listening to what they have to say
talk down to to verbally treat someone in an inferior manner
go off to speak angrily about something
put down to criticize someone or something
Example
Last week I went to visit my friend Fred. Fred is a great guy but at times he can really go on about things. We were speaking about some of our friends and he came out with this incredible story about Jane. It seems she had butted in while he was harping on his favorite complaint: Service in restaurants. Apparently, he had been running on for quite a while putting down almost every restaurant he had been to by rattling off a list of his visits to different restaurants in town. I guess Jane felt that he was talking at her and was fed up with it. She went off about what a rude person he was which shut him up pretty quickly! I thought about blurting out that maybe she was right, but decided to clam up in order to not upset him.