People were talking at the tops of their voices V People were talking loudly

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

People were talking at the tops of their voices. Is it fine to say “People were talking loudly”, too?

Thanks.

2

yes

‘on top of their voices’ indicates as loud as they can talk (without it being considered a shout).

3

Eventually I received a “yes” from you. I’m amazed.

4

I’ve told you ‘yes’ many times.

5

:slight_smile: Yes, in fact you’re right.

6

Of course, I’ve told you ‘no’ quite a few times too, but mistakes are great teachers.

7

Hi Francis,

I would prefer: they were talking at the top of their voices. In other words, make ‘top’ singular and keep ‘voices’ plural. I am not sure what Bev means by

Alan

8

I quite agree, once again.

9

Hi Alan, thanks for your help.