say OR tell?

When to use which?

Say and tell have similar meanings
but we use them differently

•
You say something

You tell someone something
Let’s look at some examples:

•
Pam said she was sick.

Pam told Peter that she was sick.
Direct speech
We can use say with direct speech. We
use tell only with direct speech that is an
instruction or information:

. Amy said, "Hello, dear. How are you?"

“I’m fine," he said.

He told me: "Open the door, quickly."

She told him, "I have never been to Angola."
Reported speech
We can use say and tell to talk about
reported information:

“The postman was late,” she said.
She said that the postman was late.

“We won’t come, Mary,” they told her.
They told Mary they wouldn’t come.
Reported speech
• We cannot use say or tell to report
questions. We must use ask (or a similar
verb):

“Have you ever been here?” she asked me.
She asked me if I had ever been there.
•
“Where do you want to go?, they asked me.
They asked me where I wanted to go.
Orders, advice
• We use tell + object + infinitive for orders or
advice:

She told him to go to sleep.

They told me not to take the pills.

“Tell Amy to go on holiday and forget work.”
Some fixed phrases with tell
• We cannot use say with these phrases:
• tell (someone) a story
• tell (someone) a lie
• tell (someone) the truth
• tell the future (= to know what the future
will bring)
• tell the time (= know how to read a
clock)
Thanks to www.presentationmagazine.com for this template.