Say vs. Tell

Incorrect:

1. Say me the story.
2. She said me not to go there.
3. He told that he likes management studies.

Correct:

1. Tell me the story.
2. She told me not to go there.
3. He said that he likes management studies.

Explanation:

“Say” and “tell” have similar meanings, but they are used differently.

• We usually say something (focus on the words spoken).
• We usually tell someone something (focus on communicating information to a person).

Tell normally takes a person as its object:

✅ Tell me the story.
✅ She told me the truth.
✅ He told us about the meeting.

Say is not normally followed directly by a person object:

❌ Say me the story.
❌ She said me not to go there.

Instead, use say to someone:

✅ She said to me, “Don’t go there.”
✅ He said to us that he was tired.

This is why we say:

✅ She told me not to go there.
or
✅ She said to me, “Don’t go there.”

Special uses of “tell”:

Tell can also be used without a person object in certain expressions:

1. She can tell the future. (= predict the future)
2. I can tell the time.
3. I can tell (that) she is smart. (= perceive or recognize that she is smart)

Other common examples:

• I can’t tell the difference.
• Can you tell the truth from a lie?
• It’s hard to tell.

A useful rule of thumb, which works in most situations, is:

Say + something
Tell + someone + something