Verbs of Communication - Say and Tell

The most commonly used verbs of communication are: say and tell.

Say and tell are quite often confused. The differences between say and tell are listed below.

Differences in Structure

I said (to him) (that) I was tired.

We can omit the object: him and the relative pronoun: that.

I told him (that) I was tired.

We cannot omit the object: him.

We can omit the relative pronoun: that.

Differences in Use

Direct Speech

We use say with direct speech.

For example: She said: ‘I’m tired.’

We use tell only with direct speech that is an instruction or information.

He told her: "Open the door quietly."

She told me, "I have never been to England."

Reported Speech

We can use say and tell in reported speech to talk about reported information:

She said (that) she had never been to England.

She told me (that) she had never been to England.

We use tell to report for orders or advice:

For example: She told her to open the door quietly.

There are some fixed phrases with tell. We cannot use say with these phrases:

Click on these links to learn more about Reported Speech and Verbs of Communication