Commonly Confused: Say and Tell

7/29/2019 Commonly Confused: Say and Tell

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Commonly Confused

Say versus Tell Framed | Unframed

Read & Contrast

SAY QUOTED AND INDIRECT SPEECH TELL INDIRECT SPEECH

She said, "Hello, I am the your guide". (quotedspeech)

She toldus that she was our guide. (indirectspeech)

She said, "Hello" to us. She greeted us. (indirect speech)

She saidto us, "Hello, I am your guide." She greeted us and toldus that she was ourguide. (indirect speech)

She said "Follow me." (request / command) She toldusto follow her. (request / command)

She saidthat she was our guide. (indirect

speech)

SAY Expressions

EXPRESSION SENTENCE

INDICATE OR SHOW What time does the clock say ?

ATTENTION GETTER Say, can you help me?

TO SAY PRAYERS Say your prayers and go to bed.

TO ASSUME AHYPOTHESES

Let's say , for the sake of argument, that the "earth is flat".

TO BE CERTAIN It's hard to say exactly what is wrong.

A SOCIAL MESSAGE Finally, we have a leader with something to say.

FINAL AUTHORITY Who has the say-so here? (person with decision-making authority)
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TELL Expressions

EXPRESSION SENTENCE

THE TRUTH, A LIE He always tellsthe truth / a lie.

RECOUNT He tells mejokes / stories / anecdotes.

PLANS, FACTS, DETAILS He told me his plans.

TIME, DATE, YEAR,HOUR

Could you tell me the time.

THE DIFFERENCE Can you tellthe difference between black and navy blue?

TELL / SPILL SECRETS Do tell!

SCOLD She told him offafter he missed their date.INFORM, TATTLE She told on me after I took an extra cookie. I was in trouble with Mom.

Common Mistakes

ERROR FIX

He said me that he would come at noon. He saidto me that he would come at noon.He toldme that he would come at noon.

He toldthat he was lost. He said that he was lost.

He toldeveryone that he was lost.

Practice

Choose "say" or "tell" to complete the sentence.An asterisk (*) shows the wrong answer.


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# SENTENCE - FEEDBACK YOUR RESPONSE

1.My brother me that you are good at playing chess.

tellssays

2. Whenever we play chess , he , "Are you ready to lose?" tellssays

3. He always good jokes while waiting for me to move. tellssays

4. Most of the time, I cannot the difference between a smart move and astupid one.

tellsay

5. If I am slow, he says, "Could you please me the time?" tellsay

6. Or he says, "What time does the clock ?" tellsay

7. If I ask for help and he answers and is smiling, I know he me a lie. is tellingis saying

8. I him stories to distract him. tellsay

9. Or I say, " me about your date last night." TellSay

10. He me to shut up and play. tellssays


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Julie Sevastopoulos [email protected] College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA Lastupdated: 11/25/2008

Adverbs

During vs. InFramed |

Unframed
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Observation

Both duringand in can be used when talking aboutperiods of time.

However, there are some differences and some uniqueinstances of use. Contrast the examples below. * marksexamples that sound bad.

Emphasis on a Period of Time

DURING - EMPHASIS ON ACTIVITY DURATION IN - EMPHASIS ON EXACTLY WHEN

"throughout" "at this time"

We are on vacation during July. We are on vacation in July.

We'll sleep during the day and party at night. We'll sleep in the day and party at night.

The sea was warm during the summer. The sea was warm in the summer.

I woke up several times during the night. I woke up several times in the night.

Emphasis on Activity

DURING - EMPHASIS ON ACTIVITY DURATION * IN - EMPHASIS ON EXACTLY WHEN

We had a great time during our stay there. * We had a great time in our stay there.

We went to the beach several times during ourstay.

* We went to the beach several times in our stay.

I met lots of exciting people during that month. * I met lots of exciting people in that month.

We had some phenomenal experiences duringour trip.

* We had some phenomenal experiences in ourtrip.

The shop is closed during the whole month ofJuly.

* The shop is closed in the whole month of July.

*awkward sounding

Emphasis on Exactly When

IN - EMPHASIS ON EXACTLY WHEN * DURING - EMPHASIS ON ACTIVITY DURATION

We stayed there in July, not in August. * We stayed there duringJuly, not duringAugust.


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We went to the beach in the mornings, not in theafternoons.

* We went to the beach duringthe mornings, notduringthe afternoons.

I told him not to go there in the spring. (season) * I told him not to go there duringthe spring.

*a little awkward sounding, but technically not incorrect

With Present Perfect

"During" is compatible with present perfect tense indicating ongoing activity (ies), but not compatiblewith completed activities.

ONGOING ACTIVITY OR EXPERIENCE RECENTLY COMPLETED ACTIVITY

Where have you been?We have been hereduring theevening. (ongoing; still here)

*We have been at the movies during the evening.(completed; no longer there)

* We have recently gone to Buenos Aires during

the spring break. (completed; no longer there)

What have you been doing?We have been writing a book during oursummer break. (ongoing; still writing)

*We have just finished writing a book during oursummer break. (completed; no longer working)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been closedduring these past few years. (ongoing; still closed)

*The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been closedduring the last decade. (completed; no longerworking)

Have you been to Paris during the spring?(experience)

Yes, we have been to Paris during the spring.(experience; "the spring" is not specific to "this spring")

* Yes, we have been to Paris during this spring.("this spring" already passed)

*awkward sounding

Work-Arounds

COMMON ERRORS FIXES

* The Stanford theater has been closed duringthe month of July.

The Stanford theateris / was closed during themonth of July.

* We have been at the movies duringtheevening. (Recent experience; no longer there)

We've been at the movies this / all evening.

Practice


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Select the option that best completes the sentence. Thepreferred answeris listed firstif two answersare possible.

# YOUR RESPONSE CHECK YOUR ANSWER

1. Tourists come to California the summer.

2. the summer, tourists travel to all parts of the state .

3. San Francisco is often foggy and overcast June, butnot December.

4. Sightseeing in San Francisco is best the warmermonths: September and October.

5. It's best not to go sightseeing on the ferry boats thecommuter hours.

6. 1991, the Embarcadero Freeway was removed fromthe waterfront and replaced with a beautifulboulevard.

7. It was the early '70s not the '60s that the hippies tookover the Haight-Ashbury part of the city .

8. the post-earthquake years (1989-91), it was hard toget into the downtown section of the city due to theclosed freeway sections.

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Julie Sevastopoulos [email protected] College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA Lastupdated: 11/23/2008
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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Commonly Confused: Say and Tell