Say and tell: Troublesome Irregular Verbs.

[Edgarius]

Hello my friends:
My students (XI graders: Spanish speakers) still have faulty constructions with "say and tell", as in Spanish "decir y contar" are similar.
For example: One student when writing a story expressed "I said to my friend: "He is a nice boy, and I like him"."- She should have said "I told my friend."
I continue hammering on the difference; it is -tell- when you address somebody with something. It is when you "tell" somebody anything; and "say" is just "mentioning", "expressing" anything without addressing to any particular subject.
Can you illustrate the way to address this matter in an undestandable way?
Thanks so much in advance,
Edgarius

[Casiopea]

Hello

say <to utter words>
EX: I said (these words) to him, "He's a nice boy."

tell <to give information>
EX: I told him (this information), "He's a nice boy."

Hope that helps.

[Edgarius]

Casiopea:
Thanks so much for your hints:
This means "say" is just expression, utterance of something, as "tell" is passing of information, reference of anything said.
Like this example: I was talking to a student:
I said to him: "Bring you assigment to get a good grade."
I told him that he needs to bring his assignment, so to get a good grade.
Thanks again.
Regards
Edgarius

[Casiopea]

You're most welcome, Edgarius (cool name!).

[Casiopea]

Helpful Corrections

It means "say" is just an expression, an utterance, whereas "tell" is passing on information as well as referencing what has been said.

Like these examples:

I said to him, "Bring your assigment if you want to get a good grade."

I told him that he needs to bring his assignment to get a good grade.