Just remember the simple rule:
- Use “say” when the listener isn’t important.
- Use “tell” when you want to mention the listener.
When to use Ask tell and say?
How to use Say, Tell and AskSay. We say: hello and goodbye, please and thank you, happy birthday and congratulations. Say hello to your sister for me. We said goodbye at the airport. ... Tell. Tell is usually followed immediately by a person. Said is not: ... Ask. Ask is used for questions: What is your name?
What is the difference between speak tell and say?
“Say” means to express something with words. And “tell” means to give information to a person. And that's the most important difference between these two words. When you use “tell” you must have a person following the verb.
What is the difference of tell and say?
Say focuses on the words someone said and tell focuses more on the content or message of what someone said: 'Hello,' she said. Not: 'Hello,' she told. She told him they were going on holiday.
What did I say or tell?
'Say' means: To utter words in order to communicate information, an opinion, or a feeling. 'Tell' means: To communicate something to someone in spoken or written forms.
What is tell in formal way?
disclose, divulge, expose, let on (about), reveal.
Can say and tell be used interchangeably?
Sometimes 'say' and 'tell' can be used interchangeably to express the same meaning when information is being passed from one person to another. In this case, the construction would be: 'tell' + object or 'say' + 'to' + object. For example: 'Laura told me that she would be late for work.
Do we say or tell the truth?
Both are correct: tell means to give information, as in tell/give the truth. say means to speak, as in say/speak the truth.
What is a past tense of say?
The word said is the past tense of the verb "say," but it can also be used as an adjective to refer to something that has been previously introduced. Although said is most commonly used as the past tense of the verb say, its use as an adjective comes mainly in legal and business writing.
How do you use say as an example?
Say means approximately or for example. An example of say used as an adverb is to make a statement using the word "say" before the actual estimate such as, "That ice cream cone has, say, 700 calories," which means the ice cream cone has about 700 calories. For instance. A woodwind, say an oboe.
Did he tell or say?
Answer. The meanings of these two verbs, tell and say, are similar. The main meaning of tell is to "say or write something to someone." The main meaning of say is to "use your voice to express something in words." However, there are some clear and easy rules to follow about when to use these two words, as shown below.
What did I tell meaning?
idiom. used to say to someone that he or she should have listened and followed one's advice. "The car turned out to be a lemon!" "What did I tell you?"
What is the three forms of tell?
The past tense of tell is told. The third-person singular simple present indicative form of tell is tells. The present participle of tell is telling. The past participle of tell is told.
What does it mean to say do tell?
surpriseinterjection. used especially to express mild or polite surprise.
Is Say me correct?
"Say me" would be giving an order to someone to say "me". While "say to me" is probably what you'd use on a regular basis. "Tell me" is another good words choice if you want someone to speak about something with you.
What does "say" mean in grammar?
1. to pronounce sounds or words. 2. to express a thought, opinion, or suggestion. 3. to state an instruction or fact. Grammar: SAY is a transitive verb, so it always takes a direct object. In each example below, the direct object is underlined.
What is the direct object in a sentence?
1. I gave her a present and she said, “Thank you.” (note: here, the direct object is the actual words that she used.) 2. He said something about his job, but I can’t remember what it was. (note: here, the direct object is ‘something about his job’. As in example 1, this object relates to the words that were used.)
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DailyStep English Audio Lessons are designed to help you learn to speak and understand English at the speed that we speak it.
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Daily Step English lessons are very enjoyable and useful. You can touch the sound of real spoken ...
What does "say and tell" mean?
The verbs 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.
What are some fixed phrases for "tell"?
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.
What did Tara tell John?
Tara told John that she loved him. But, of course, it is not always so easy. Here are a few rules to help you. 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.
What did Tara say to Ram?
Tara said to Ram that he had done very well.
What did the policeman say to the prisoner?
The policeman said to the prisoner, "Where were you at 8pm?"
Can we say or tell to talk about reported questions?
We cannot use say or tell to talk about reported questions. We must use ask (or a similar verb):
When to use "say" or "tell"?
Basically, say is used with exact quotes and questions (in the direct speech), however, in case of indirect speech we use the word ‘asked’. Conversely, tell is mainly used when we give orders, instructions and advise.
What is the difference between "say" and "tell"?
The differences between say and tell can be drawn clearly on the following grounds: The word ‘say ’ is used to state something, specifically opinion, feelings, suggestions and so forth. On the other hand, tell is used to say something to a person, i.e. provide information or narrate something. While say can be used as a noun, verb ...
What does "say" mean?
Definition of Say. Whenever you are uttering a word or speaking something, you are actually saying it. It is used to express your opinion, suggestion, feelings, emotions, etc. and also to deliver some information. It can be used in the following ways: As a verb: To state, i.e. to utter words :
What does "say" mean in a comparison chart?
Comparison Chart. Say means to utter words, in order to express opinion, feeling or give some information. Tell means to provide information to a person either orally or in writing. When we use say we needn't mention the receiver. When we use tell we must mention the receiver. Exact quotes and questions. Orders, advice and instruction.
Should employees come to the office on time?
Office policies say that employees should come to the office on time or else the salary for the concerned day would be deducted.
Who has the final say in an argument?
The mediator has the final say in the argument.
Is "tell" an irregular verb?
The words ‘say’ and ‘tell’ both are irregular verbs, as their past participle form, do not have a regular ‘ed’ ending, i.e. say becomes said and tell becomes told. While the word ‘ say ‘ is used to utter something verbally, ‘ tell ‘ can be used to give information, give evidence or orders to a person. So, the first and foremost difference between ...
When to use "say" and "tell"?from clarkandmiller.com
But, when it comes to “say” and “tell,” you can use either of them for reported speech. Just remember the simple rule: Use “say” when the listener isn’t important. Use “tell” when you want to mention the listener.
What are some fixed phrases for "tell"?from englishclub.com
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.
What did Tara say to Ram?from englishclub.com
Tara said to Ram that he had done very well.
What is DailyStep English?from dailystep.com
DailyStep English Audio Lessons are designed to help you learn to speak and understand English at the speed that we speak it.
What does "tell" mean in a message?from clarkandmiller.com
We can use “tell” to report the general message instead of what was said.
Who said Josh was a great guy?from ilac.com
So it would be Jessica Alba told me Josh was such a great guy. Again, it’s up to you if you want to include the word that after the object pronoun or the verb say. It is also correct to say: Jessica Alba told me that Josh was such a great guy, or Jessica Alba said that Josh was such a great guy.
When do we use "say"?from dictionary.cambridge.org
We use say with direct speech. We don’t normally use tell in this way:
What is the difference between "say" and "tell"?
We use say and tell in different ways in reported speech. Say focuses on the words someone said and tell focuses more on the content or message of what someone said:
When do we use "say"?
We use say with direct speech. We don’t normally use tell in this way:
Is "say" a verb?
Say and tell are irregular verbs. The past simple of say is said, the past simple of tell is told:
Can we tell without an indirect object?
However, we use tell without an indirect object with words such as the truth, a lie, a joke, a story:
When to use "say" and "tell"?from clarkandmiller.com
But, when it comes to “say” and “tell,” you can use either of them for reported speech. Just remember the simple rule: Use “say” when the listener isn’t important. Use “tell” when you want to mention the listener.
What are some fixed phrases for "tell"?from englishclub.com
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.
What did Tara say to Ram?from englishclub.com
Tara said to Ram that he had done very well.
What does "tell" mean in a message?from clarkandmiller.com
We can use “tell” to report the general message instead of what was said.
What does "say" mean in grammar?from dailystep.com
1. to pronounce sounds or words. 2. to express a thought, opinion, or suggestion. 3. to state an instruction or fact. Grammar: SAY is a transitive verb, so it always takes a direct object. In each example below, the direct object is underlined.
What did the policeman say to the prisoner?from englishclub.com
The policeman said to the prisoner, "Where were you at 8pm?"
What is DailyStep English?from dailystep.com
DailyStep English Audio Lessons are designed to help you learn to speak and understand English at the speed that we speak it.
When to use "say" and "tell"?
But, when it comes to “say” and “tell,” you can use either of them for reported speech. Just remember the simple rule: Use “say” when the listener isn’t important. Use “tell” when you want to mention the listener.
What is the difference between "say" and "tell"?
So we’ve seen how “say” tends to focus on the actual words. “Tell,” on the other hand, is more useful when you want to talk about the general message — when the words themselves aren’t so important. In a way, this makes “tell” more versatile — we can use it in more situations.
What does "tell" mean in a message?
We can use “tell” to report the general message instead of what was said.
When to use "say"?
Use “say” when the listener isn’t important.
Is "tell" a general word?
Sometimes “tell” can be really, really general.
Can you use "say" to give orders?
Sometimes, you can also use “say” to give orders.
Is "tell" more versatile?
In a way, this makes “tell” more versatile — we can use it in more situations.
What is the meaning of "tell" and "say"?
Grammatically, ‘say’ and ‘tell’ can be used interchangeably to express the same meaning when information is being passed from one person to another. Here, the construction would be: ‘tell’ + object or ‘say’ + ‘to’ + object.
When do we use "tell"?
In English, we commonly use tell when giving an order or instruction. When we use ‘tell’, we include the object (e.g. you/her/us) immediately after the verb.
What are the verbs "tell, say, speak" and "talk"?
Tell, Say, Speak and Talk are English verbs that have ESL learners mixed up all the time. While these verbs are generally similar to one another, the way we use them in the language is different. For instance, the problem of how to use them correctly is a frequently asked question by learners at QQEnglish.
What does "speak about" mean?
Speak about (= to say something on a topic or subject with someone, often in a more relaxed setting than ‘speak on’)
What does "nothing to say" mean?
Nothing to say (= to not have anything to say about a topic or a person , can be used when there has been bad feeling around the topic.)
What does "speak" mean in a sentence?
In the sample sentence, the verb ‘speak’ means that she is fluent in three languages. It refers not only to spoken ability.
What does "talk out of" mean?
Talk out of (= used when you are trying to convince someone to change their mind about a bad idea they have)
Breaking Down These Confusing English Verbs
Let’s start with the basics: understanding the fundamental differences between say, tell, speak, and talk. The fact that two of these English verbs begin with an s and a t, doesn’t simplify this process, does it? Trust me. It’ll get easier.
How to Learn the Difference Between Say, Tell, Talk, Speak
Now that we know how to use the verbs in their different tenses let's learn how to understand when to use them! Disclaimer: The following unveils a basic, simple glimpse of how to differentiate the verbs.
Say, Talk, Speak, Tell: Quiz Yourself!
Time to test your knowledge with a little quiz. Just fill in the blanks with the four English verbs we’ve discussed today! Do note that not all of the answers will be in the present tense.
