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Shaun Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Simple, but for me difficult..Could you help?

Simple but I see myself always get confused with the use of both. Can you please suggest a better way to understand?

He said that he would be arriving shortly.
He told that he would be arriving shortly.

How/Where do I use SAID and TOLD?

Thanks a lot!
  

Top answer

shaun He told me/ Mona/ the audience/ etc. that he would be arriving shortly. After "tell," you need a pronoun or noun in your particular sentence.

— Anonymous

  • shaun He told me/ Mona/ the audience/ etc.
  • that he would be arriving shortly.
  • After "tell," you need a pronoun or noun in your particular sentence.
  • Compare: He told a lie to me.
  • He told me a lie.
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3 Answers
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shaunHe told me/ Mona/ the audience/ etc. that he would be arriving shortly.
After "tell," you need a pronoun or noun in your particular sentence.

Compare:

He told a lie to me.
He told me a lie.
He told me that he would be arriving shortly.
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Thanks James Emotion: smile

I will use a pronoun after "tell" hereafter. But is using say/tell interchangeable?

Best,
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shaun But is using say/tell interchangeable?
No, they aren't. Here is how Raymond Murphy in his excellent Grammar in Use series of books puts it:

If you say who[m] you are talking to, use tell:

Tom told me (that) he didn't like Brian.

Otherwise use say:

Tom said (that) he didn't like
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