Use of Say and Tell

Question

Should I say “When I say to my friends” or “When I tell my friends” ?? I can’t understand the difference between those two words

Say is a transitive verb and requires a direct object (i.e, the content of what gets said). Tell can be transitive or bitransitive, but it always requires an indirect object (i.e, an addressee for the telling). Consequently *I'll say to my friends is ungrammatical; no direct object. On the other hand, I'll tell my friends is fine, because the direct object can be assumed or ignored, but the indirect object is there. — John Lawler, Apr 29 '18 at 16:18
Please see How do I ask a good question?, taking care to note the comments on search & research, including: "Have you thoroughly searched for an answer before asking your question? Sharing your research helps everyone. Tell us what you found and why it didn’t meet your needs. This demonstrates that you’ve taken the time to try to help yourself, it saves us from reiterating obvious answers, and above all, it helps you get a more specific and relevant answer!" — Arm the good guys in America, Apr 29 '18 at 18:13

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 29 '18 at 16:18

From Cambridge Dictionary - English Grammar Today: "Say focuses on the words someone said and tell focuses more on the content or message of what someone said".

Both say and tell can take a direct object, tell normally takes an indirect object (one or more people) and a direct object, but we use tell without an indirect object with words such as the truth, a lie, a joke, a story.

See the link for more details on usage.

Use of Say and Tell

1 Answers1