Say or Tell

Say vs. Tell

The difference between SAY and TELL in English Andrew said he was sick. Andrew told me he was sick.In general: Say + something Tell + someone

SAY = to express something in words. You say SOMETHING For example He said hello. He said something… hello is that “something” NOTE: You cannot say: He said me hello. (NOT correct) Say does not have an object pronoun directly after it (me, him, her, us, etc.) You can say something (to someone) He said hello to me. Example Sentences How do you say ‘chicken’ in Spanish? I said goodbye to him. We didn’t say anything.

TELL You tell SOMEONE (something) Look at this sentence. He said his name. He did not say his name to a specific person. We do not know who the listener is. What if he is talking to me? We cannot say: He said me his name. (This is NOT correct) You TELL someone something. So it becomes: He told me his name. (This is correct) Let’s look at some example sentences: She told me her name. He told us his secret. Can you tell me the time please? The teacher told them to put their books away.

Did you notice how there is a verb instead of a thing in the last sentence? You tell SOMEONE to do something. (The second verb is in the infinitive …. TO + verb)

Tell can be used with wh-words (where, whn, what, also how) The order is… Tell + someone + (where/when etc.) + verb They told us where to find the hotel. He told me how to fix my computer. Can you tell me when you are ready? I told you what happened. Tell can be used with or without an object pronoun in the following cases: – Tell + the truth I want you to tell me the truth. I want you to tell the truth. I want you to say the truth. (NOT correct) – Tell + a lie (lies) Amanda has never told me a lie. Amanda has never told a lie. Amanda has never said a lie. (NOT correct)

– Tell + a joke John told us a terrible joke. John told a terrible joke. John said a terrible joke. (NOT correct) – Tell + a story I’m going to tell you a story about trolls. I’m going to tell a story about trolls. I’m going to say a story. (NOT correct