Say or Tell

Say and tell have similar meanings. They both mean to communicate
verbally with someone. But we often use them differently

The simple way to think of say and tell is

* You say something
* You tell someone something

You say something

You tell someone something

Ram said that he was tired

Ram told Jane that he was tired

Anthony says you have a new job

Anthony tells me you have a new job

Tara said: "I love you"

Tara told John that she loved him

But, of course, it is not always so easy. Here are a few rules to help
you

Personal object
We usually follow tell with a personal object (the person that we are
speaking to). We usually use say without a personal object

* She told me that she loved John
* She said that she loved John
* He told everybody that he had to leave
* He said that he had to leave

Say "to someone"
With say, we sometimes use "to someone"

* He said to me that he was tired
* Tara said to Ram that he had done very well
* Anthony said to her, "I hope you come soon"
* "I'd like to sleep," she said to him quietly

Direct speech
We can use say with direct speech. We use tell only with direct speech
that is an instruction or information

* Amanda said, "Hello John. How are you"
* "That's great'" she said.
* He told her: "Open the door quietly."
* She told me, "I have never been to England"

We can use say with direct questions, but we cannot use tell:

* She said: "Do you love me"
* The policeman said to the prisoner, "Where were you at 8pm"

Reported speech
We can use say and tell to talk about reported information

* She said that it was raining.
* She told me that she would call at 2pm

We cannot use say or tell to talk about reported questions. We must use
ask (or a similar verb)

* She asked if I had ever been there
* They asked what I wanted to eat
* She asked where he lived
* He asked if she wanted to go home

Orders, advice
We use tell + object + infinitive for orders or advice

* She told him to sit down
* They told me not to wait
* Tell Neil to have a holiday and forget her

Phrases
Here are a few 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)

Right and wrong
Read these examples of correct and incorrect usage

We cannot

These are NOT possible

These are possible

say someone to do something

Tara said Jo to go away

Tara told Jo to go away

say someone something

Panita said me that she was hungry

Panita told me that she was hungry

tell something

He told that he likes coffee

He said that he likes coffee

tell to someone

Tookta told to me that she was coming

Tookta told me that she was coming

Tookta said to me that she was coming

say a lie

Siriluck always says lies

Siriluck always tells lies

tell somebody "direct speech"
(except instructions and information)

Ram told Nok: "Let's turn on the TV"

Ram said to Nok: "Let's turn on the TV"

(Ram told Nok, "Turn on the TV")

(Ram told Nok: "I was born in 1985")

say or tell a reported question

She said if I wanted to come

She asked if I wanted to come

Tookta told what I wanted to do

Took asked what I wanted to do