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Thread: Say Of/About

  1. #1
    heatherww is offline Banned
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    Arrow Say Of/About

    Some news story contains this:

    "'I could say that I have done some of those things,' he said of the accusations against him. "

    How is "say of" different from "say about" or "say to"?

  2. #2
    Barb_D's Avatar
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    Default Re: Say Of/About

    There is little or no difference between "said of" or "said about" or "said regarding."

    However, "said to" is not right -- you say something TO a person.
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

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    heatherww is offline Banned
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    Default Re: Say Of/About

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    There is little or no difference between "said of" or "said about" or "said regarding."

    However, "said to" is not right -- you say something TO a person.
    What would you say to a drink after work?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Say Of/About

    Quote Originally Posted by heatherww View Post
    What would you say to a drink after work?
    "You look familiar. Haven't we met before?"
    emsr2d2 likes this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    emsr2d2 is online now VIP Member
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    Default Re: Say Of/About

    Quote Originally Posted by heatherww View Post
    What would you say to a drink after work?
    Effectively this is still "say to a person" because the full sentence would be:

    What would you say to me if I asked you if you fancied a drink after work?
    5jj likes this.

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    g-at-bbe is offline Newbie
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    Default Re: Say Of/About

    emsr2d2 is exactly right. Unless, of course, you had something like this in mind:

    Q: What would you say to a drink after work?

    A: Hello. Would you mind terribly if I drank you?

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