When to use which?say OR tell?

Say and tell have similar meaningsbut 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.