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H M Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
"say" vs. "tell"
I'd like to ask about the usage of "say, tell".
Could you tell me why "say" should be chosen for ( blank ) among the options(ask, say, talk, tell) in the sentens below?
#1 What did he ( ) to you? Anything interesting?
I understand that "ask" and "tell" can't come grammatically.
With my feeling, I could choose "say" instead of "tell", but I've found this sentence#2.
#2 Let me tell this to you straight, in plain words.
First, I thought that "tell" is usually only used like "tell + a person/people + things".
But, according to #2, "tell" can be used in this order:"tell + things + a person/people"
Or, the sentence #2 is exceptional?? Like almost a fixed expression...
If so, "tell" can't come in (blank) in #1.( Since if I turn it into an affirmative order, it should be "He told what to you." )
By the way, apart from the options(ask, say, talk, tell), could you tell me other words that can fit in the blank if any?
Thank you!
Could you tell me why "say" should be chosen for ( blank ) among the options(ask, say, talk, tell) in the sentens below?
#1 What did he ( ) to you? Anything interesting?
I understand that "ask" and "tell" can't come grammatically.
With my feeling, I could choose "say" instead of "tell", but I've found this sentence#2.
#2 Let me tell this to you straight, in plain words.
First, I thought that "tell" is usually only used like "tell + a person/people + things".
But, according to #2, "tell" can be used in this order:"tell + things + a person/people"
Or, the sentence #2 is exceptional?? Like almost a fixed expression...
If so, "tell" can't come in (blank) in #1.( Since if I turn it into an affirmative order, it should be "He told what to you." )
By the way, apart from the options(ask, say, talk, tell), could you tell me other words that can fit in the blank if any?
Thank you!
Top answer
What did he say to you? Say what you want me to do. / Say to me what you want me to do.
- What did he say to you?
- Say what you want me to do.
- / Say to me what you want me to do.
- ( optional ind.
- ) What did he tell you?
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3 Answers
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#1.What did he say to you? Say what you want me to do. / Say to me what you want me to do. (optional ind. obj.)
What did he tell you? Tell me what you want me to do. (The indirect object is required.)
The key is the preposition "to." It's a question of common collocations/patterns.
Tell her something. Tell something to her.
Sa
What did he tell you? Tell me what you want me to do. (The indirect object is required.)
The key is the preposition "to." It's a question of common collocations/patterns.
Tell her something. Tell something to her.
Sa
00
Thanks a lot for your explanation!
I'm still wondering ...since "He told that to you." is oik, is its interrogative also possible??
I mean, "What did he tell to you?" is possible??
Or, "common collocations" don't allow the pattern?
AvangiThe key is the preposition "to." It's a question of common collocations/patterns.I see.
I'm still wondering ...since "He told that to you." is oik, is its interrogative also possible??
I mean, "What did he tell to you?" is possible??
Or, "common collocations" don't allow the pattern?
00
The word "to" cannot come immediately after the word "tell." For example, the following are okay:
I told him not to tell that story to you. (There are words between the "tell" and the "to," so this is okay.)
What did he tell you to do? (There is a word between "tell" and "to," so this is okay.)
The following are incorrect, since there are no words between the "tell" a
I told him not to tell that story to you. (There are words between the "tell" and the "to," so this is okay.)
What did he tell you to do? (There is a word between "tell" and "to," so this is okay.)
The following are incorrect, since there are no words between the "tell" a
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