If you frequently confuse the words “Say”, “Tell” and “Speak”, you’re not alone; these are
some of the most commonly confused English words! In this lesson, I’ll teach
you the rules for the difference between “Say”,
“Tell”, and “Speak”
1.
Tell/Told
Tell
means “to give information to a person”
So “Tell” (present) and “Told”
(past) are always followed by a person.
-
Tell
me about the movie. Did you like it?
-
Harry, I told you not to eat any cookies before dinner!
-
Did you tell Sam about what happened at school today?
-
The police told us that the situation was under control.
-
Benjamin and Jessica told everybody that they were engaged
to be married.
-
Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secret.
2.
Say/Said
With “Say” (present) or “Said” (past), we can use these structures:
·
Say
(something)
·
Say
that (something)
·
Say
(something) to (a person)
·
“(something)” a person said
-
Leonardo says she doesn’t like pizza.
-
I said that the new website design was great.
-
What did the teacher say to you when you failed the test?
-
“Nice to meet you,” Jason said.
Common mistake!
-
He said me that he had to leave. (Incorrect)
-
He told me that he had to leave. (Correct)
3.
Speak/Spoke
Use “Speak” (present) and “Spoke” (past) with languages, and with
talking in general (no specific details). We can use “Speak with (someone)”
-
I speak English
-
Does Alex speak Italian?
-
Emma is going to speak in front of 500 people at the
conference.
-
We spoke to the boss this morning. (general conversation, no specific
details)
-
I need to speak with you about the new project. (general topic, no details)
In case of “Speak with
(someone)” and “Speak to (someone)”, you
can also say “talk to” or “talk with”.
However, you can’t use “talk”
with languages:
-
I don’t talk Chinese. (Incorrect)
-
I don’t speak Chinese. (Correct)
