Question 1

How do I use say and tell in reported speech?

Accepted Answer

Both verbs introduce reported speech, but with different grammar. Use "say" without a person object: "He said he was leaving" — there is no mention of who he spoke to. Use "tell" with a person object: "He told me he was leaving" — the listener is specified. The word "that" is optional in both: "She said (that) it was raining" and "She told us (that) it was raining." A common mistake is using "say" with a person: "He said me he was leaving" is wrong — either add "to" ("He said to me") or use "tell" ("He told me"). In writing tasks, mixing "say" and "tell" in reported speech adds variety to your paragraphs.

Question 2

How do I report commands with say and tell?

Accepted Answer

When someone gives an order or instruction, report it using "tell + person + to + base verb": "Close the door!" becomes "She told me to close the door." For negative commands, add "not" before "to": "Don't be late!" becomes "He told us not to be late." You cannot use "say" for this pattern — "She said me to close the door" is always wrong. However, you can use "say" to report the original words indirectly: "She said I should close the door" (using "should" instead of the infinitive). In B1 exams, the infinitive pattern with "tell" is the expected answer for reporting commands and instructions.

Question 3

Can I use "tell" without a person after it?

Accepted Answer

In standard English, "tell" nearly always needs a person object — you tell someone something. However, there are a few exceptions where "tell" appears without a person: "time will tell" (the future will reveal the answer), "you never can tell" (you cannot predict what will happen), and "as far as I can tell" (based on what I know). These are all fixed expressions. In all other situations, you must include a person: "He told the class a story" (correct), "He told a story" (acceptable in informal speech but less standard). If you are writing for an exam, always include the person object after "tell" unless using one of the fixed expressions listed above.

Say vs Tell — Intermediate Practice

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-ed vs -ing Adjectives

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Present Perfect

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