say和tell的用法区别大比较

say和tell的用法区别大比较 Say or Tell? 1. Say and Tell have no difference in meaning in this context except for the structure of the sentence. You SAY something“He said that he would be back at 3pm”. You TELL someone something“He told me that he would be back at 3pm”. 2. Use SAY when youre quoting someone or with thank you, sorry and hi. “Johnny, say thank you to the lady for giving you the ice cream”. “Say hi to Tom when you see him later”. “Silvia says sorry for not getting back to you earlier. She has been so busy with work” 3. Use TELL when giving/asking for information or asking for instructions “Could you tell me the time?” ( information) “Can you tell me the quickest way to the railway station?” (instructions) “Could you tell me when the next sales meeting will be?” (information) “Hold on, I need to tell you something“ (information) “Can you tell me how to work this computer?” (instructions) 4. We use TELL when we recognise signs A： “Youve been in the sun, havent you?B： How did you know?A： I can tell by your tan. A： Youre from the UK, arent you?B： How can you tell?A： I can tell by your accent. A： How can you tell youre in love?B： Mmm, let me think about that. 5. TELL Special ExpressionsWe normally tell someone something. However, there are special expressions where we dont have to tell someone. Here they are： a. Tell a story or tell a jokeYou can tell a story (or you can tell me a story) “I love telling jokes with my friends”“Tell me a story”“My family always tell stories around dinner table”. b. Tell the truth or a lieYou can tell the truth and the whole truth (or you can tell me the truth and the whole truth) “He has told so many lies in his career”“I want you to tell me the truth for once”. c. Tell SecretsYou can tell someone a secret or you can tell secrets “He loves telling secrets”“Can I tell you secret? d. Tell the difference or tell things apartYou can tell someone the difference but you cannot tell someone things apart “Can you tell me the difference betwe