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Say and tell are the two verbs most commonly used to report statements in English. We can use either say or tell to do this.
she told me鈥 / she said鈥
The main difference is that when we use told we normally say who is spoken to, so we have to use it with a direct personal object. When we use say, we don鈥檛 normally indicate who is spoken to, or, if we do, we must put to before the object. Compare the following:
He told me that he was going into hospital for a major operation.
He said that he expected to be kept in for about six weeks.
Did you say anything to her?
I told her nothing about it!
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 look too happy,鈥 I said.
鈥淚 get really stressed at work,鈥 she said.
鈥淓at properly, exercise regularly and get eight hours鈥 sleep each night,鈥 I said.
鈥淓at properly, exercise regularly and get eight hours鈥 sleep each night,鈥 I told her.
The shoe shop manager explained / insisted that I couldn鈥檛 exchange the boots or get my money back as I鈥檇 had them for over a month. I had to admit that they no longer looked quite new.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 look very happy,鈥 I remarked.
鈥淚 get really stressed at work,鈥 she confessed.
鈥淓at sensibly, exercise regularly and sleep for eight hours each night,鈥 I advised her.
They informed me that they wouldn鈥檛 be sitting the IELTS test after all.
I warned him that he would be disqualified if he cheated in the exam.
She taught me everything I know.
We can also use the object + infinitive pattern with told and other verbs suggesting commands or orders. We cannot use said in this way:
I warned her not to stay out after dark in this area as it isn鈥檛 safe.
I told her to get a taxi from the station and not to walk.
Note that if we are reporting the topic and not what was actually said, we use this construction. Again, it is not possible with said:
They told me all about their holiday in Greece.
I told them about how I got sunburnt in Portugal.
Note that we do not use say or tell to report questions. Instead we must use ask with if or whether to report yes/no questions and with the question word for all other types of questions. We normally, but not always, use ask with a direct personal object when reporting questions in this way:
She asked me if I was going to Dee鈥檚 party.
I asked her whether Joan would be coming.
She asked what clothes I would be wearing.
I asked where I should meet her.
Like told, we can use asked with to + infinitive or about + topic:
I asked them to turn down the volume on the CD player as I couldn鈥檛 concentrate on what I was reading. They asked me to move to another room.
I asked them about the holidays they had enjoyed in Greece and Portugal.
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