what's the difference between 話をする and 話す?

Question

I'm trying to understand the nuances between 話をする and 話す. When is one used over the other? I'm reviewing A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, and it has the following example sentence: >私は山田さんとしか話をしない。 Would it mean the same thing if the example sentence were: >私は山田さんとしか話さない。 Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

（私は山田さんとしか）話さない and 話をしない are interchangeable.

話す is a verb and it means simply "to speak / talk", whereas 話をする is a combination of a verb (する=do) and a noun（話） and it literally means "to do the speaking / talking".

Answer 2

　話をする　　話す

Those two things are similar meaning.　I do not think that there is any difference between them for me.

so

　私は山田さんとしか話をしない。　私は山田さんとしか話さない。Those sentences are similar meaning. Means we understand what you mean.