Como Usar Say y Tell en Inglés

Son dos palabras muy parecidas, pero tienen un significado diferente. Si todavía no sabes cómo usar say o tell, te lo explicamos abajo.

Personal object
We usually follow tell with a personal object (the person that we are speaking to). We usually use say without a personal object:

• She told me that she loved Jake.
• She said that she loved John.
• He told everybody that he had to leave.
• He said that he had to leave.

Say «to someone»
With say, we sometimes use «to someone»:

• He said to me that he was tired.
• Tara said to Ram that he had done very well.
• Anthony said to her, «I hope you come soon.»
• «I’d like to sleep,» she said to him quietly.

Direct speech
We can use say with direct speech. We use tell only with direct speech that is an instruction or information:

• Ashley said, «Hello Jake. How are you?»
• «That’s great,» she said.
• He told her: «Open the door quietly.»
• She told me, «I have never been to England.»

We can use say with direct questions, but we cannot use tell:

• She said: «Do you hate me?»
• The policeman said to the prisoner, «Where were you at 8pm?»

Adapted from: https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/cw-say-tell.htm