Reported speech · CEFR B1 · Independent
say or tell? — English reported speech
Tell needs a person straight after it. Say does not take one at all unless "to" comes first.
The shape
say (to somebody) that… · tell somebody that…
Pick the right reporting verb every time.
In Hindi
tell के तुरंत बाद व्यक्ति आता है। say के साथ व्यक्ति तभी आता है जब पहले "to" हो।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
He said me that he was busy. | He told me that he was busy. With a person straight after it, the verb is "told". |
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the say or tell? used for?
- Tell needs a person straight after it. Say does not take one at all unless "to" comes first. In practice: pick the right reporting verb every time.
- How do you form the say or tell??
- say (to somebody) that… · tell somebody that….
- What is the most common mistake with the say or tell??
- Saying “He said me that he was busy.” instead of “He told me that he was busy.”. With a person straight after it, the verb is "told".
Where say or tell? fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
say or tell? is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to reported speech. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the say or tell? →