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 (quote) You tell someone something (information) You tell someone something Ram told Jane that he was tired.

You say something Ram said that he was tired.

Anthony says you have a new job. Anthony tells me you have a new job. Tara said: "I love you." 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:

Tara told John that she loved him.

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

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

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)

Examples Say
used with direct and indirect speech She said that it was my last chance. He said, Good morning. Say is most often used without a personal object. If we want to put a personal object after say, we use to. She said that she would be late. (not She said me...) And I say to all the people of this great country...

Tell

used with direct and indirect speech after tell, we usually say who is told, i.e., tell someone something She told me that she would be late.

only used to mean instruct or inform

She told me that it was my last chance. (not He told them, Good morning.)

Tell is used to tell someone to do something

Toms mother told him to clean his room.

Tell is not used before objects like a word, a name, a sentence, a phrase. We do not usually use it after tell to refer to a fact. Alice said a naughty word... (not Alice told a naughty word...) Ill tell you tomorrow. (not Ill tell you it tomorrow.) I dont want to tell you again to get your homework done.

tell someone again (repeat)

Right and wrong Read these examples of correct and incorrect usage: We cannot... say someone to do something These are NOT possible... These are possible...

Tara said Jo to go away.

Tara told Jo to go away.

say someone something

Panita said me that she was hungry. He told that he likes coffee.

Panita told me that she was hungry. He said that he likes coffee. Tookta told me that she was coming. Tookta said to me that she was coming.

tell something

tell to someone

Tookta told to me that she was coming.

say a lie

Siriluck always says lies.

Siriluck always tells lies. Ram said to Nok: "Let's turn on the TV."

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

Ram told 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. Tookta told what I wanted to do.

She asked if I wanted to come. Took asked what I wanted to do.

Fill the gaps with the correct form of say or tell. 1 2 3 4 5 6 They _________________ on the news that everyone survived. Come on. _________________ me everything. You know what they _________________ about Bankok, don't you? Mummy! The teacher _________________ a rude word in class today. I hate the way she keeps _________________ me what to do. Richie _________________ the same thing over and over again.

7 8

What did you _________________ to him? What did you _________________ him?

9 He gave me his email address but he wouldn't _________________ what his phone number was. 10 He wouldn't _________________ me his phone number. 11 I thought she was my friend until I found out she'd _________________ all my secrets to everyone. 12 13 14 15 They _________________ that John's really mean with money. He _________________ me I wasn't invited to the wedding. She _________________ me all about her holiday in Sicily. I couldn't understand a word of what he was trying to _________________ to me.

16 He _________________ me this funny story about what happened to him on holiday. 17 Talk He wouldn't _________________ what the problem was.
There is not very much difference between speak and talk. Talk is the more usual word to refer to conversational exchanges and informal communication When she walked into the room everybody stopped talking.

Speak

is often used for one-way communication and for exchanges in more serious or formal situations.

Ill have to speak to that boy -- hes getting very lazy. After she had finished reading the letter, nobody spoke. She speaks three languages fluently.

Speak is the usual word to refer to knowledge and use of languages

Do or Make?
It is not always easy to choose between "do" and "make". Do can be an auxiliary verb (Do you like coffee?) or a main verb (I did my homework yesterday.). As an auxiliary verb, it has no meaning. It is necessary only for the grammatical structure. As a main verb it has a meaning, but the meaning is rather general. It often expresses a general activity.

Make is not an auxiliary verb. It is always a main verb (I made a cake yesterday.). Its meaning is also rather general, but it often expresses the idea of construction or creation.

Do
Do for general activity When we talk about a general activity but do not say what it is, we can use do:

I want to do something. What are you doing this evening? What can we do? Do it now!

Do for work We usually use do to talk about work:

What do you do? (= What is your job?) Who does your shopping? I don't want to do any work today. I hate doing the washing up. Have you done your homework?

Note that we sometimes use do to replace another more exact verb (but only when the meaning is clear from the situation). This is very informal.

do the lawn (cut/mow? sow? the lawn) do my room (tidy? paint? my room) do the car (wash? paint? repair? the car)

Make
Make for construction Make often expresses the idea of construction or creation:

I'll make a cake for Anthony's birthday. This car was made in France. Did you make this table yourself? Remember that we usually use make for products or goods that are manufactured. That's why you see labels like "Made in Hong Kong" or "Made in the USA" on products that you buy. Do the shopping. (We don't really create anything. We just "do" an activity.) Make a cake. (We really create something.)

Now compare:

In the next example, notice how we use make for creation (the cake) and then use do (for the general activity) even though we're really talking about the same thing:

I must make Anthony's cake. I'll do it now.

Expressions with Do and Make

Here are some expressions that you should learn. Notice that as main verbs we use make more often than do:

do good do harm do well do badly do a favour do business

make an attempt make a bed (usually this means "tidy the bedclothes" but it could mean "manufacture the furniture") make a change/changes make a complaint make a decision make a demand make an effort make an exception make an excuse make a loss make love make a mistake make money make a noise make an offer make peace make a phone call make a profit make a suggestion make war

Fill the gaps with either do or make in the correct form. 1 2 3 The house was a disaster. They ________________ a terrible mess. Have you ________________ all the arrangements yet? Vincent: English football fans came to Valencia last weekend.

Maria: Did they ________________ any damage? 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Listen. I made lunch so you can ________________ the washing up. It's only fair. What he did was terrible. He didn't even ________________ an apology. They're ________________ plans for their wedding. Bob: Richie and I have had a fight. Julio: Not again! You should ________________ amends once and for all. Who's going to ________________ dinner? You or me? Be careful that you ________________ the right decision. He's ________________ an appointment to see the dentist on Thursday. Would you ________________ me a favour and feed the cat while I'm away. We normally ________________ the shopping on Saturday mornings. Before you go out, you have to ________________ your homework, OK? This cake is delicious. Did you really ________________ it? I always ________________ my bed before breakfast. Everyone ________________ a big effort to help yesterday. The doctor told me I have to ________________ exercise regularly. She ________________ crossword puzzles on the train everyday. Stop ________________ a fuss. I'm perfectly alright. I ________________ a really terrible mistake in my driving test.