Say and tell are two common words in English with similar meanings. Both mean to communicate verbally with someone. But we use them in different ways.
✅ We say something.
Examples:
- Lauren says that you’re engaged.
- Bill said that he was hungry.
- Robert said “He misses you.”
✅ We tell someone something.
Examples:
- Lauren tells me that you’re engaged.
- Bill told Jane that he was hungry.
- Robert told Alyssa that he misses you.
➡ If you say who you are talking to, use tell:
- Bree told me that you were ill.
- What did you tell Louis?
➡ Otherwise use say:
- Bree said that you were ill.
- What did you say?
➡ But you can say something to somebody:
- Lee said goodbye to me and left.
- What did you say to Louis?
➡ We usually use say with direct speech. We only use tell with direct speech that is an instruction or information:
- Britney said, “I’ll be right back.”
- “That’s perfect,” he said.
➡ We use both say and tell with reported speech:
- He said that the weather would be nice.
- She told me that she would arrive by noon.
- He told her, “Be quiet around the baby.”
- She told me, “I won’t be late.”
➡ We use both say and tell with reported speech:
- He said that the weather would be nice.
- She told me that she would arrive by noon.
But, we cannot use say or tell with reported questions. For these, we must use ask:
➡ Direct:
- He said, “What do you want to eat?”
- She asked, “Have you been there?”
- Mia said to Susan, “Let’s leave?”
- “Please don’t tell her ” Sid said to me.
➡ Reported:
- He asked what I wanted to eat.
- She asked if I had been there.
- Mia asked Susan if she wanted to leave.
- Sid asked me not to tell her.
Let’s practice!
Complete the following sentences with say or tell. Remember to conjugate the verbs in the appropriate tenses.
1. Brock _______________ goodbye to me and left.
2. Don’t just stand there. _______________ something!
3. The doctor _______________ that I will be fine in a few days.
4. I wonder where Bobby is. He _______________ he would be at the restaurant by 7:00.
5. Lisa _____ “She loves you.”
So, do you understand the difference between these verbs now?
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