Are saying and telling the samthing?

Answer 1

Tell

[ tel

]

noun 1.

William Tell

synonyms

acquaint, advise, announce, apprise, authorize, bid, command, confess, declare, direct

The simple way to think of say and tell is: You saysomething
You tell someone something



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.

Examples:

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.
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.