need advice urgently

hi i would like to know the difference of when we use:
to say
to tell .
and what rules are connected with each of them. thanks in advance.

'Tell' has specific meanings.... you use it when what is said communicates new information, or instructs someone to do something.

It's a little confusing, but I think both words can usually be translated directly between different languages. What's your first language?

There are quite a lot of rules involved.... here are some.

I say
You say
He says
She says
We say
They say

'Says' sounds like 'sez'.
The past tense is always 'said', which sounds like 'sed'.

I tell
You tell
He tells
She tells
We tell
They tell

The past tense is always 'told'.

When you use 'tell' or told, you usually need to specify who it is you're telling....

I said "wash the car."
"Wash the car", I said.
I told Peter to wash the car.
I told him to wash the car.
Hasn't he washed the bloody car yet? Tell him again.

If you need more help, try using some examples.

[Steven D]

Here's something that should be helpful. It's very difficult to keep all of this in mind when talking about the difference between "say" and "tell".

http://vocabulary.englishclub.com/cw-say-tell.htm

http://vocabulary.englishclub.com/cw-say-tell_quiz.htm


And another link:

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/gramm...andtell01.html


http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/83.html

[Steven D]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi i would like to know the difference of when we use:
to say
to tell .
and what rules are connected with each of them. thanks in advance.

I would look at the links I left.

Here's a general guideline for "say" and "tell". We usually use "tell" when speaking about stories. Both "say" and "tell" can be used to give information. However, "tell" is used to talk about things that are stories.

Also, "say" is followed by "to" when it has a person as an object.

They said the road was closed. What did they say to you?

The preposition "about" can follow "tell". - Did they tell you about it?

When "tell" has a person as an object, "to" is not used. However, "to" is used with "say".

We say something to someone.

We tell someone something.

What did you tell him?

What did you say to her?

[Steven D]

Here is another "say and tell" comparison.

http://www.learn-english-today.com/f.../say_tell.html