[Grammar] use of to

[exiledblue]

I am struggling to explain to Italian friends why we sometimes use to and sometimes not for example

I said to my mother......
I told my mother.....

I vaguely remember a rule somewhere from my schooldays that said it was not always necessary to use to in sentences but I may be wrong andif there is a rule does it apply to all other prepositions?

thanks

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by exiledblue

I am struggling to explain to Italian friends why we sometimes use to and sometimes not for example

I said to my mother......
I told my mother.....

I vaguely remember a rule somewhere from my schooldays that said it was not always necessary to use to in sentences but I may be wrong andif there is a rule does it apply to all other prepositions?

thanks

It depends on the verb. "said" requires to; told doesn't.
I would explain that it is similar to prepositions after Italian verbs; some verbs require a, some di, some nothing. Of course, that doesn't help to explain which verbs require which, either in English or Italian.

[albertino]

Originally Posted by exiledblue

I am struggling to explain to Italian friends why we sometimes use to and sometimes not for example

I said to my mother......
I told my mother.....

I vaguely remember a rule somewhere from my schooldays that said it was not always necessary to use to in sentences but I may be wrong andif there is a rule does it apply to all other prepositions?

thanks

It is the nature of the verb that counts.
Since "said" is an intransitive verb, a preposition "to" must be added before the noun that follows. However, "told" is a transitive, so it must be followed by a direct object(a noun) without a preposition.
Hope that may help.
(Not a teacher)

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by albertino

It is the nature of the verb that counts.
Since "said" is an intransitive verb, a preposition "to" must be added before the noun that follows. However, "told" is a transitive, so it must be followed by a direct object(a noun) without a preposition.
Hope that may help.
(Not a teacher)

Say can be transitive or intransitive.
I said something to my mother. something is the direct object of said, so said is transitive.
I told my mother something. something is the direct object of told, so told is transitive.
In both cases, my mother is the indirect object.