Grammar: say and tell — the difference You say something You tell someone something Reza said that he was hungry Reza told Craig that he was hungry and wanted a cup of tea and some biscuits. There are some collocations that go with TELL, but not with say: tell (someone) the truth tell (someone) a lie tell (someone) a story / tale tell (someone a joke tell the future (= to know what the future will bring) tell the time (= know how to read a clock) With say, we sometimes use “to someone”: Reza said to me that he'd like a cup of tea. “to tell” significa informar o mandar a alguien hacer algo. No lo ponemos para introducir una pregunta. XI told him “Can you wait forever"?X | said to him “Can you wait forever’? (I asked him if he could wait forever) He told me to go away. He told me to shut up! “to say" no se suele poner antes de un infinitivo.