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Say or Tell

Say or Tell

Date: Oct 27 2007

Topic: Grammar

Author: gkisseberth

Lesson

Many of my Spanish speaking friends often confuse the English verbs 'say' and 'tell'

Both verbs involve the act of speaking, and both can be used to report someone else's speech, so how do you know when to use them?

 The simplest rule to remember is this

  • We SAY something     
  • We TELL someone something  
   
  • TELL is usually followed by a personal object (the person you are taking to) for example:

"I told Ray that he got the promotion."    "Can you tell me how to get to the mall?"

"Please don't tell the teacher that I forgot my homework."

 

  • SAY is usually used without an object. for example:

 

"She said Ray got the promotion."    "Paula says you have a new job."

"The teacher said that the homework was due tomorrow."

 

  • If you want to use a personal object after SAY, you can use "said to" as in

Sally said to Tom "I love you"  or  Anthony said to me that he was busy

(Although these are grammatically correct, I feel that they are awkward)

 

Of course, as with all things English, there are exceptions. There are a few set phrases that always use TELL and not SAY. 

  • tell (someone) a story  or tell a story
  • tell (someone) a lie      or tell a lie
  • tell (someone) the truth     or tell the truth
  • tell the future (= to know what the future will bring)
  • tell the time (= know how to read a clock)

 

Here's a an online quiz you can use to check yourself. TELL me how you do!

 http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/cw-say-tell_quiz.htm 

Comments

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djuicemilon

Bangladesh

it is a very easy language i like it. again u write than easy language use.

05:18 PM Jan 11 2008 |

Luyba

Luyba

Ukraine

Thanks a lot!now i'll be correct in it

12:22 AM Jan 11 2008 |

gonzelius

gonzelius

Argentina

Great lesson!
Really useful as it clarified some doubts I had using these two words.
Thanks for adding a quiz, too.

05:56 PM Jan 10 2008 |

gonzelius

gonzelius

Argentina

Thanks for the lesson!

You did a great job explaining when to use these two common words.

Thanks for adding a quiz, too. By the way, I took it and nailed all the answers! Wink

05:55 PM Jan 10 2008 |

johanne

Philippines

I will say that this lesson is really great.

01:34 PM Jan 10 2008 |

batool899

batool899

Bahrain

wow..nice topic to learn..

 it wasn't that much difficult.. i liked it! and i have already answerd the test, and it was easy…

 thanx alot and wish to c more lessons from u

take care

10:41 PM Jan 09 2008 |

alogigi

alogigi

United States

Txs a lot

I learned something new today !!!

good lesson

04:13 AM Jan 06 2008 |

EstebanM

EstebanM

Colombia

You're clear, friend, thanks a lot!

11:14 PM Jan 05 2008 |

charger

charger

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Well i think that was perfect point of view ,  we usually using  , but please..!  do you mind if you explain the different between THINK , THOUGHT , i think it has the same similarity  confusion thing isn't it ?  by the way i am Arabic which means  , English is not my mother tongue . finely thank you for your time and supporting. 

11:56 PM Jan 03 2008 |

sreenivas4488

India

Thanks for giving a good article like this..,

06:51 AM Dec 30 2007 |

448.sniper

Yemen

very cool, thanks

06:17 PM Dec 28 2007 |

448.sniper

Yemen

it's a good information, thank you so muchWink

06:15 PM Dec 28 2007 |

darissa

darissa

Malaysia

this lesson is helping me.. thanks you so much Wink

07:32 AM Dec 28 2007 |

史巧云

China

More valuable! Very good!

 Thank you very much. It expands my view.

Hope you give us more useful lesson.

Thanks 

02:11 AM Dec 28 2007 |

shakict

shakict

Pakistan

What A Beautifull Example..You have solved my prob…I love your articals…

07:46 AM Dec 27 2007 |

shakict

shakict

Pakistan

Very Nice You Have Solved My Prob…Thank You Very Much…I Love Your Exampel…I Wanna Learn With You…Plz Tell Me…

07:42 AM Dec 27 2007 |

wln19931010

China

thank you

01:11 PM Dec 26 2007 |

ramses717

ramses717

Turkey

Thank you it is very beneficial.

05:27 PM Dec 24 2007 |

Lesmundo2003

Spain

It's a good way to tell (the students) how it is & you have said it in an easy way  ;-)

05:04 PM Dec 24 2007 |

水晶球

China

Thanks !

02:26 AM Dec 24 2007 |

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