When do I use "Say" and when do I use "Tell"?

Fixed expressions with "tell": tell the truth, tell a lie, tell the time, tell a joke, tell a story, tell the difference. Fixed expressions with "say": say hello/goodbye, say sorry, say a prayer, it goes without saying. When you mention the person, "say" takes "to": "She said to me that..." vs. "She told me that..." (no "to"). Common error: "say me the answer" ✗ = "tell me the answer" ✓.

What is the most common mistake with "Say" and "Tell"?

Forgetting the recipient after "tell": "She told that she was tired" is wrong (correct: "She told ME that she was tired"). And "She said me the answer" is wrong (correct: "She told me the answer").

How do I remember the difference between "Say" and "Tell"?

TELL needs a direct listener glued to the verb: tell ME, tell HIM, tell THE CLASS (person right after the verb, no preposition). SAY speaks into the air or needs "to": "say something", "say to me". TELL-EPHONE: like a phone, there's always a specific person on the other end.

Resources

Lecciones de gramática Por temas Flash cards Lecturas Ejercicios de listening Glosario Falsos amigos ¿Cuál usar?Sufijos Prefijos

Discover your level Blog

ESEN

Which one to use?Beginnerverbverb

SayvsTell

Both mean 'to say', but 'tell' always needs to know who receives the message.

Side-by-side comparison

Say

verb

"Say" expresses words or information without requiring a mention of who it is directed to. "She said she was tired" = those were her words. The recipient is optional.

She said that she was tired.
He said goodbye and left.
What did you say?

Tell

verb

"Tell" communicates information to a specific person and always requires a direct recipient. "She told me she was tired" = she communicated it to me. Always followed by a person: me, him, them...

She told me that she was tired.
Tell me the truth.
He told his students to study.

Common mistake

•Forgetting the recipient after "tell": "She told that she was tired" is wrong (correct: "She told ME that she was tired").
•And "She said me the answer" is wrong (correct: "She told me the answer").

Trick to remember it

•TELL needs a direct listener glued to the verb: tell ME, tell HIM, tell THE CLASS (person right after the verb, no preposition). SAY speaks into the air or needs "to": "say something", "say to me".
•TELL-EPHONE: like a phone, there's always a specific person on the other end.

Quick rule

•Fixed expressions with "tell": tell the truth, tell a lie, tell the time, tell a joke, tell a story, tell the difference.
•Fixed expressions with "say": say hello/goodbye, say sorry, say a prayer, it goes without saying.
•When you mention the person, "say" takes "to": "She said to me that..." vs. "She told me that..." (no "to").
•Common error: "say me the answer" ✗ = "tell me the answer" ✓.

Did you know?

TELL has fixed idiomatic expressions that can never be replaced by SAY. "Tell the time" (read a clock). "Tell the difference" (notice a distinction). "Tell a story" (narrate something). "Tell a lie" (say something false). "Tell someone's fortune" (predict someone's future). "Time will tell" (the future will reveal the truth). And a very useful expression in professional English: "I can tell" (I can perceive, I can sense), as in "I can tell you're nervous" = I can sense you are nervous. This expression uses TELL without a person object, proving that grammatical rules have exceptions when phrases become idiomatic.