Say vs Tell — English Grammar Exercises
She said, he told me — master indirect speech
Say vs Tell: A Systematic Guide
The say/tell distinction is one of the most frequent single-item errors in reported speech at B1–B2 level. The difference is structural: 'tell' takes a direct person object ('told me', 'told her', 'told the group') while 'say' does not — adding a person requires 'to' ('said to me', 'said to her'). This means 'he told that' is always wrong, and 'she said me' is always wrong. Beyond the basic structural rule, learners must also learn which fixed expressions use 'tell' exclusively: tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell the time, tell the difference, tell a joke. Greetings and conventional responses always use 'say': say hello, say goodbye, say sorry, say thank you. The instruction pattern — reporting orders or advice — requires 'tell + person + to + infinitive'.
✗ She said me she was leaving. → ✓ She told me she was leaving.
✓ She told the truth. / She told a story. (fixed expressions)
✓ They said goodbye. (fixed expression — never 'told goodbye')
Frequently Asked Questions
What tenses change in reported speech?
Every tense shifts one step back in time: present simple becomes past simple ('I am tired' → 'she said she was tired'), present continuous becomes past continuous, present perfect becomes past perfect, and will becomes would. Past perfect does not change — it is already as far back as possible. Modals also shift: can → could, may → might, must → had to, shall → would. Modals that are already past (could, would, might, should) remain unchanged.
What is the difference between say and tell in reported speech?
'Tell' always requires a direct person object: 'told me', 'told her', 'told them'. You cannot say 'he told that' — it must be 'he told me that'. 'Say' does not take a direct person object: 'he said that'. If you add a person with 'say', use 'to': 'he said to me that'. Additionally, 'tell' is required in fixed expressions: tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell the time. For fixed expressions with greetings — say hello, say goodbye, say sorry — 'say' is always used.
How do reported questions work?
Reported questions do not use question word order or auxiliaries like do/does/did. They follow normal statement word order with tense backshift. For yes/no questions, introduce the reported question with 'if' or 'whether': 'Are you coming?' → 'She asked if I was coming.' For wh-questions, keep the question word and use normal order: 'Where do you live?' → 'She asked where I lived.' No question mark is used in reported questions.
Which time and place words change in reported speech?
Time and place words shift to reflect the new perspective. Today → that day, tomorrow → the next day / the following day, yesterday → the day before / the previous day, now → then, here → there, ago → before, this → that, these → those, last week → the week before, next month → the following month. Not every sentence requires these changes — if you are reporting something immediately or if the context has not changed, some shifts may be unnecessary.