Say or Tell?

Say Versus Tell

Welcome ot common mistakes! Today we're going to be tlaking about the difference between "Say and Tell" -
one of the most common mistakes
that I hear - especially among Russian students. SO let's get started.

I'm going to make this easy - After the word Tell -
1. Don't use a preposition.
2. Give me a person or thing after "tell" - a direct object.
If you do both of these things, I will be very happy.

Let's look at an example or two.
First, here is the mistake.

"I told to my friends that I love hamburgers."

Which rule did we break! We can't use a preposition (TO) after tell.
"I told MY FRIENDS that I love hamburgers.

Let's try another one.
"I told that I love hamburgers to my friends."

Which rule did we break!? We need a person or thing after "tell"
"I told my friends that I love hamburgers.

quickly I want to mention that there are exceptions to this - for example, to "tell a story."


Great, got it? I hope so.

Let's talk about the word Say. "Say" is a bit more versatile. Generally speaking, we can include
1. The information
2. We can use a preposition (TO) before the direct object of the verb.

So let's look at our hamburger example with the word "Say" instead of tell.

If it is correct, it will look like this.
1. I said to my friends that I love hamburgers.
2. I said that I love hamburgers to my friends.

The meaning here is about the same. Though I'd like to mention that I wouldn't say "I said to my friends" - I'd use "tell" instead because it is shorter without the preposition.

So let's summarize. After tell you need to remember two things - 1 - don't use a preposition. 2. give me a direct object immediately after "tell"
What about say? After say
1. We can use a preposition before the direct object.
2. We can add the information after "say" instead of the direct object of the verb.
8 de Julho de 2019
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Will Saffel

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Hello! My name is Will and I am an American ESL teacher. I've been working as a teacher for about 5 years now, almost all in Russia (Moscow and Saratov). I've worked with students from 10-50 years old and worked with a variety of different proficiency levels and backgrounds. I'm here to help you Don't be afraid to write me a message or schedule a trial lesson! My teaching style combines traditional elements as well as some philosophies from my own experience. First of all, I don't believe in immersion as a teaching tool. Immersion requires you to be speaking English most of the day, not only for one hour two to three times a week. That simply isn't immersion. So for that reason, I encourage you to translate sentences and if you speak Russian, you can use Russian in a limited way to understand key concepts more quickly. Secondly, I don't always support the conversational style of teaching. I mean, in order to form correct sentences and to do it quickly and without mistakes, you MU...
Flag
Inglês
globe
Estados Unidos
time
477
Fala:
Inglês
Nativo
,
Russo
B1
Hello! My name is Will and I am an American ESL teacher. I've been working as a teacher for about 5 years now, almost all in Russia (Moscow and Saratov). I've worked with students from 10-50 years old and worked with a variety of different proficiency levels and backgrounds. I'm here to help you Don't be afraid to write me a message or schedule a trial lesson! My teaching style combines traditional elements as well as some philosophies from my own experience. First of all, I don't believe in immersion as a teaching tool. Immersion requires you to be speaking English most of the day, not only for one hour two to three times a week. That simply isn't immersion. So for that reason, I encourage you to translate sentences and if you speak Russian, you can use Russian in a limited way to understand key concepts more quickly. Secondly, I don't always support the conversational style of teaching. I mean, in order to form correct sentences and to do it quickly and without mistakes, you MU...
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