Как правильно использовать say и tell
Оба глагола переводятся как «сказать» или «говорить», но строят предложения по-разному. Главная разница: say фокусируется на сказанных словах, а tell очень часто требует человека, которому передают информацию.
Say
say something
She said, “Hello.”
Tell
tell someone something
She told me the truth.
Не: She told that she was tired.
Нужно: She said that she was tired или She told me that she was tired.
Разница между say и tell в одной таблице
| Say | Tell |
|---|---|
| say something | tell someone something |
| say that... | tell someone that... |
| say something to someone | tell someone |
| say hello | tell the truth |
| say “Stop!” | tell someone to stop |
Say + то, что было сказано
- She said hello.
- He said nothing.
- What did she say?
- He said that he was busy.
После say человек не ставится непосредственно без предлога.
Если после say называем человека, нужен to
- What did you say to him?
- She said something to Anna.
- I didn't say anything to them.
Не: Say me the answer.
Нужно: Tell me the answer.
Tell обычно ставит адресата сразу после глагола
- Tell me your name.
- She told him the news.
- They told us everything.
Say that и tell someone that
Say
She said that she was tired.
Tell
She told me that she was tired.
That в разговорной речи часто можно опустить:
- She said she was tired.
- She told me she was tired.
Tell someone to do something
Tell используется для приказов, инструкций, просьб и передачи указания.
- She told me to wait.
- Tell him to call me.
- The doctor told her to rest.
Отрицание
- She told me not to worry.
- I told them not to touch it.
Не: She said me to wait.
Правильно: She told me to wait.
Say особенно естественен с прямой речью
- She said, “I'm tired.”
- “Don't worry,” he said.
- “What happened?” she said.
Tell тоже может участвовать в повествовании, но для непосредственного цитирования нейтральным reporting verb обычно является say.
Say и tell в косвенной речи
| Direct | Reported с say | Reported с tell |
|---|---|---|
| “I'm busy.” | She said that she was busy. | She told me that she was busy. |
| “Wait here.” | — | She told me to wait there. |
Частые выражения с say
- say hello / goodbye
- say yes / no
- say something / nothing
- say a few words
- say sorry
- say thank you
- say what you think
Частые выражения с tell
- tell the truth
- tell a lie
- tell a story
- tell a joke
- tell the difference
- tell the time
- tell a secret
В устойчивых сочетаниях вроде tell the truth или tell a story после tell сразу может стоять содержательный object.
Почему tell a story, а не say a story
Story, joke и lie традиционно сочетаются с tell:
- Tell me a story.
- He told a funny joke.
- She told a lie.
Say может передавать конкретные слова внутри истории, но не является обычным collocation для самого процесса рассказывания story.
Можно ли сказать tell a question
Обычно нет. Вопрос задают:
ask a question
Но можно сказать:
- Tell me the answer.
- Tell me what happened.
Tell someone about something
Очень частая конструкция — рассказать кому-то о теме.
- Tell me about your trip.
- She told us about her new job.
- I'll tell you about it later.
Say и tell в Passive Voice
Say
Частая reporting construction:
He is said to be very rich.
Tell
Tell также нормально образует Passive:
- We were told to wait.
- I was told that the meeting had been cancelled.
Типичные ошибки
| Ошибка | Правильно |
|---|---|
| She said me the truth. | She told me the truth. |
| He told to me that... | He told me that... |
| She told that she was tired. | She said that... / told me that... |
| He said me to wait. | He told me to wait. |
| She said a story. | She told a story. |
Упражнения на say и tell
Упражнение 1. Вставьте say или tell
- Can you ______ me the truth?
- What did she ______?
- He ______ that he was busy.
- She ______ us to wait outside.
- Please ______ hello to Anna.
Показать ответы
1. tell
2. say
3. said
4. told
5. say
Упражнение 2. Исправьте ошибки
- She said me that she was tired.
- Tell to John that I'm busy.
- He said me to sit down.
- She said a funny story.
Показать ответы
1. She told me that she was tired.
2. Tell John that I'm busy.
3. He told me to sit down.
4. She told a funny story.
Что важно запомнить
- Say something.
- Say something to someone.
- Tell someone something.
- Tell someone that...
- Tell someone to do something.
- Tell используется в сочетаниях tell the truth, tell a story, tell a joke.
- Для прямого цитирования базовый reporting verb — say.