Say / Tell: Are you quoting or reporting?

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On this page:
Say v. Tell
Say – Other Meanings
Tell – Other Meanings
Common Mistakes
Practice

Say / Tell

Are you quoting or reporting?

Say vs. Tell

SAY	TELL
Use say for quoted and indirect speech. After say, the indirect object uses "to me/us/you" and usually follows the quoted speech.	Use tell for indirect speech. After tell, the indirect object comes immediately after the verb.
She said, "Hello" to us.	She greeted us. (indirect speech)
She said, "Hello, I am your guide". (quoted speech)	She told us that she was our guide. (indirect speech)
She said to us, "Hello, I am your guide."	She greeted us and told us that she was our guide. (indirect speech)
She said that she was our guide. (indirect speech)	She told us that she was our guide. (indirect speech)
She said "Follow me." (request / command)	She told us to follow her. (request / command)

Also see Say / Tell / Add

What time does the clock say?

SAY Expressions

EXPRESSION	SENTENCE
INDICATE OR SHOW	What time does the clock say ?
ATTENTION GETTER	Say, can you help me?
TO SAY PRAYERS	Say your prayers and go to bed.
TO ASSUME A HYPOTHESES	Let's say , for the sake of argument, that the "earth is flat".
TO BE CERTAIN	It's hard to say exactly what is wrong.
A SOCIAL MESSAGE	Finally, we have a leader with something to say.
FINAL AUTHORITY	Who has the say-so here? (person with decision-making authority)

tell

TELL Expressions

EXPRESSION	SENTENCE
THE TRUTH, A LIE	He always tells the truth / a lie.
RECOUNT	He tells me jokes / stories / anecdotes.
PLANS, FACTS, DETAILS	He told me his plans.
TIME, DATE, YEAR, HOUR	Could you tell me the time.
THE DIFFERENCE	Can you tell the difference between black and navy blue?
TELL / SPILL SECRETS	Do tell!
SCOLD	She told him off after he missed their date.
INFORM, TATTLE	She told on me after I took an extra cookie. I was in trouble with Mom.

pizza

Common Mistakes

ERROR	FIX
A quick-thinking pizza man told he threw a large, hot pepperoni pizza at a gunman to stop him. Pop-q "told"	A quick-thinking pizza man said (that) that he threw a large, hot, pepperoni pizza at a gunman to stop him. A quick-thinking pizza man told reporters (that) he threw a large, hot, pepperoni pizza at a gunman to stop him. A quick-thinking pizza man told reporters how he threw a large, hot, pepperoni pizza at a gunman to stop him. A quick-thinking pizza man told reporters about throwing a large, hot, pepperoni pizza at a gunman to stop him.
He said me that he would come at noon. (similar words: announce, declared, explain, mention, etc.)	He said to me that he would come at noon. He told me that he would come at noon.
He told that he was lost.	He said that he was lost. He told everyone that he was lost.

Also see Say / Tell / Add

Practice

Say or Tell?

Choose say or tell to complete the sentence.
An asterisk (*) indicates an indicate response.

#	SENTENCE - FEEDBACK	YOUR RESPONSE
1.	My brother me that you are good at playing chess.	tells says
2.	Whenever we play chess , he , "Are you ready to lose?"	tells says
3.	He always good jokes while waiting for me to move.	tells says
4.	Most of the time, I cannot the difference between a smart move and a stupid one.	tell say
5.	If I am slow, he says, "Could you please me the time?"	tell say
6.	Or he says, "What time does the clock ?"	tell say
7.	If I ask for help and he answers and is smiling, I know he me a lie.	is telling is saying
8.	I him stories to distract him.	tell say
9.	Or I say, " me about your date last night."	Tell Say
10.	He me to shut up and play.	tells says