Say and tell both move information from one person to another, but their grammar is different. Say takes the words: "She said hello." Tell takes the listener: "She told me the news."
The simplest rule is: tell someone something, say something to someone. "He told me a secret" is correct; "He said me a secret" is not.
This page shows the two patterns, the fixed expressions with each verb, and how they behave in reported speech. The drill has 20 sentences with a short rule under every answer.
The rule
Tell needs a person
- Tell + person + something: "I told her the answer."
- Tell + person + about something: "He told us about the trip."
- Tell + person + to do something: "She told me to wait."
- The person comes directly after tell, with no preposition: tell me, tell him, tell the class.
Say does not need a person
- Say + something: "She said goodbye."
- Say + something + to + person: "She said goodbye to me."
- Never say "say me". The person needs the preposition to after say.
- Say + (that) + clause: "He said that he was tired."
Fixed phrases with tell
- Tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell a joke, tell a secret, tell a tale.
- Tell the time, tell the difference, tell the future, tell fortunes.
- These phrases keep tell even when no listener is named: "He always tells the truth."
- Tell someone off means criticise them: "The teacher told him off."
Fixed phrases with say
- Say hello, say goodbye, say sorry, say thank you, say please, say yes, say no.
- Say a prayer, say a few words, say something, say nothing.
- Say a word about something: "She did not say a word about the price."
- Say so means state it: "If you think I am wrong, just say so."
Reported speech with say and tell
- Said and told both introduce reported speech, and both are followed by that or by nothing.
- "She said (that) she was busy" and "She told me (that) she was busy" are both correct.
- Told must keep its listener: "She told me that she was busy", never "She told that she was busy".
- In reported commands, use tell + person + to: "He told me to sit down."
Say and tell without a listener
- Tell can stand alone in the fixed phrases above: "The clock tells the time."
- Say works alone very often: "What did you say?", "I said nothing."
- When the listener is already clear, English often prefers say + to: "She said it to me twice."
- For general speech, say is the safer default; tell needs a person or a fixed phrase.
Examples
- She told me the news at lunch.Tell takes the person first.
- She said the news was good.Say takes the information, not the person.
- He said sorry to his sister.Say sorry is a fixed phrase; the person follows to.
- He told his sister a story.Tell a story is a fixed phrase that takes a listener.
- Please tell me the truth.Tell the truth keeps tell even without extra detail.
- Do not say a word about the surprise.Say a word is a fixed phrase with say.
- She told me to close the window.Reported commands use tell + person + to.
- The sign says the shop closes at six.Say works with written messages too.
- Can you tell the difference between the twins?Tell the difference is fixed with tell.
- He said that he would come later.Said introduces a reported statement.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: She said me the answer. Right: She told me the answer.
- Tell takes the person directly. Say needs to before the person: she said the answer to me.
- Wrong: He told that he was tired. Right: He told me that he was tired.
- Told needs its listener. Use said that if there is no listener: "He said that he was tired."
- Wrong: Please say me the truth. Right: Please tell me the truth.
- Tell the truth is the fixed phrase, and truth goes with tell.
- Wrong: She told hello to the class. Right: She said hello to the class.
- Say hello is fixed with say.
- Wrong: He said me to wait outside. Right: He told me to wait outside.
- Reported commands use tell + person + to, not say.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
She ___ me the answer.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. told Tell takes the person directly after the verb: told me.
He ___ that he was busy.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. said Without a listener, use said that; told would need a person.
Please ___ me the truth.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. tell Tell the truth is the fixed phrase with tell.
She ___ hello to everyone in the room.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. said Say hello is fixed with say, and the person follows to.
They ___ us a funny story.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. told Tell a story takes the listener first: told us.
He ___ me to wait outside.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. told Reported commands use tell + person + to.
What did she ___ to you?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. say Say takes to before the person in questions like this.
Can you ___ the difference between the two pictures?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. tell Tell the difference is a fixed phrase with tell.
I did not ___ a word about the surprise.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. say Say a word is the fixed phrase with say.
My mother ___ me to be careful.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. told Tell + person + to reports an instruction.
She ___ goodbye and left the party.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. said Say goodbye is fixed with say.
He ___ the teacher that he was late.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. told Tell takes the listener directly: told the teacher.
Do not ___ lies to your parents.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. tell Tell a lie is the fixed phrase with tell.
She ___ me about her holiday.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. told Tell someone about something keeps the listener after tell.
Can you ___ me the time, please?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. tell Tell the time is fixed with tell, and the listener follows.
He ___ nothing and walked away.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. said Say nothing describes speech with no listener named.
They ___ me that the shop was closed.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. told Tell + person + that introduces the reported statement.
She said ___ me that she would come.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. to Say needs to before a person: said to me.
The teacher ___ the class a joke.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. told Tell a joke takes the listener first: told the class.
I ___ sorry for the mistake.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. said Say sorry is fixed with say.
Questions learners ask
When do I use say and when do I use tell?
Use tell when the listener is named directly after the verb: tell me, tell the class. Use say when you report the words or the information: say hello, say that you are busy. If you want both, tell takes the person first (tell me the news) and say takes to (say the news to me).
Is "said to me" wrong?
No, "She said to me that she was tired" is correct. It is a little more formal or emphatic than "She told me". The preposition to is required after say when a person follows, because say cannot take a direct person object.
Why do we say "tell the time" and not "say the time"?
Fixed phrases grew with one verb and stayed that way. Tell carries the idea of giving information to someone, so it fits measuring and reporting: tell the time, tell the difference, tell a story. Say carries the idea of producing words, so it fits greetings and short speech: say hello, say sorry, say a prayer.
More grammar topics
If vs whether
Both words introduce reported yes or no questions, but whether is required after prepositions and before to-infinitives.
Articles with school, hospital and bed
No article when the place is used for its normal purpose; a or the when it is just a building or a specific one.
During vs while
During + noun answers when; while + subject and verb answers what else was happening at the same time.
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