2021-01-05 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด S – say & tell

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2021-01-05

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด S – say & tell

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Dictionary.com

ออกเสียง say = ‘SEY’

ออกเสียง tell = ‘TEL’

Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary

Say & tell

You say “Hello, Mr. Chips” to the teacher,

and then tell him about what you did last summer.

You can’t “tell that” except in expressions

like "go tell that to your old girlfriend."

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Choose the Right Synonym for tell

Verb

REVEAL, DISCLOSE, DIVULGE, TELL, BETRAY

mean to make known what has been or should be concealed.

REVEAL may apply to supernatural or inspired revelation of truths

beyond the range of ordinary human vision or reason.

divine will as revealed in sacred writings

DISCLOSE may imply a discovering but more often an imparting of information previously kept secret.

candidates must disclose their financial assets

DIVULGE implies a disclosure involving some impropriety or breach of confidence.

refused to divulge an anonymous source

TELL implies an imparting of necessary or useful information.

told them what he had overheard

BETRAY implies a divulging that represents a breach of faith

or an involuntary or unconsciousdisclosure.

a blush that betrayed her embarrassment

Collins COBUILD English Usage

Say

1. 'say'

When you say something,

you use your voice to produce words.

The past tense and -ed participle of say is said /sed/.

You use say when you are quoting directly the words

that someone has spoken.

'I feel so happy,' she said.

'The problem,' he said, 'is that Mr Sanchez is very upset.'

In writing, you can use many other verbsinstead of say

when you are quoting someone's words.

In spoken English, you usually use say.

He said to me, 'What shall we do?'

Be Careful!

In speech, you mention the person and say before quoting their words.

Don't say, for example, ''What shall we do?' he said to me' in spoken English.

You can use it after said to refer to the words spoken by someone.

You could have said it a bit more politely.

I just said it for something to say.

If you are referring in a general way to what someone has expressed,

rather than their actual words,

use so, not 'it'.

For example, say 'I disagree with him and I said so'.

Don't say 'I disagree with him and I said it'.

If you wanted more to eat, why didn't you say so earlier?

I know she liked it because she said so.

You can report what someone has said without quoting them directly using say and a that-clause.

She said she hadn't slept very well.

They said that smoking wasn't permitted anywhere in the building.

Be Careful!

Don't use 'say' with an indirect object.

For example,

don't say 'She said me that Mr Rai had left.'

Say 'She said that Mr Rai had left' or'She told me that Mr Rai had left.'

2. 'tell'

If you are mentioning the hearer as well as the speaker,

you usually use tell, rather than 'say'.

The past tense and -ed participle of tell is told.

For example,

instead of saying 'I said to him that his mother had arrived',

say 'I told him that his mother had arrived'.

'I have no intention of resigning,' he told the press.

She told me to sit down.

See tell

You say that someone tells a story, lie, or joke.

You're telling lies now.

Dad told jokes and stories.

Be Careful!

Don't say that someone 'says' a story, lie, or joke.

Don't say, for example 'You're saying lies now'.

3. 'ask'

Don't say that someone 'says' a question.

Say that they ask a question.

Luka asked me a lot of questions about my job.

I asked what time it was.

See ask

4. 'give'

Don't say that someone 'says' an order or instruction.

Say that they give an order or instruction.

Who gave the order for the men to shoot?

She had given clear instructions about what to do while she was away.

5. 'call'

If you want to say that someone describes someone else in a particular way,

you can use say followed by a that-clause.

For example,

you can say 'He said that I was a liar'.

You can also say that someone calls someone something.

For example, you can say 'He called me a liar'.

She called me lazy and selfish.

See call

6. 'talk about'

Don't use say to mention what someone is discussing.

Don't say, for example, 'He said about his business'.

Say 'He talked about his business'.

Lucy talked about her childhood and her family.

Collins COBUILD English Usage

tell

Tell is a common verb which is used in several different ways.

Its past form and -ed participle is told.

1. information

If someone tells you something,

they give you some information.

You usually refer to this information by usinga that-clause or a wh-clause.

Tell Dad the electrician has come.

I told her what the doctor had said.

You can sometimes refer to the information

that is given by using a noun phrase

as the direct object of tell.

When the direct object is not a pronoun,

you put the indirect object first.

She told him the news.

I never told her a thing.

When the direct object is a pronoun,

you usually put it first.

You put to in front of the indirect object.

I've never told this to anyone else in my whole life.

When you are referring back to information

that has already been mentioned,

you use so after tell.

For example,

you say 'I didn't agree with him and I told him so'.

Don't say 'I didn't agree with him and I told him it'.

She knows that I might be late. I have told her so.

'Then how do you know she's well?' – 'She told me so.'

2. stories, jokes, lies

You say that someone tells a story or a joke.

She told me the story of her life.

He's extremely funny when he tells a joke.

You can also say that someone makes or cracks a joke.

See joke

You say that someone tells a lie.

We told a lot of lies.

If someone is not lying, you say that they are telling the truth.

We knew that he was telling the truth.

I wondered why I hadn't told Mary the truth.

When you use tell to talk about stories, jokes, or lies,

the indirect object can go either afterthe direct object or in front of it.

His friend told me this story.

Many hours had passed when Karen finished telling her story to Kim.

3. orders

If you tell someone to do something,

you order or instruct them to do it.

When tell has this meaning, it is followed by an object and a to-infinitive.

Tell Martha to come to my office.

They told us to put on our seat-belts.

Be Careful!

Don't use tell like this without an object.

Don't say, for example, 'They told to put on our seat-belts'.

4. recognizing the truth

If you can tell what is happeningor what is true,

you are able to judge correctly what is happeningor what is true.

I can usually tell when someone's lying to me.

I couldn't tell what they were thinking.

When tell has this meaning,

you usually use can, could, or be able to with it.

5. 'inform'

Inform means the same as tell,

but it is more formal, and is used in slightly different ways.

You can inform someone of something,

or inform someone that something is the case.

The public is informed of the financial benefits that are available.

It was his duty to inform the king that his country was in danger.

In conversation and in less formal writing, you usually use tell.

Collins COBUILD English Usage

Speak – say – tell

1. 'speak'

When you speak, you use your voice to produce words.

The past tense of speak is spoke.

The -ed participle is spoken.

They spoke very enthusiastically about their trip.

I've spoken to Raja and he agrees with me.

2. 'say'

Don't use 'speak' to report what someone says.

Don't say, for example, 'He spoke that the doctor had arrived'.

Say 'He said that the doctor had arrived'.

I said that I would like to teach English.

He said it was an accident.

3. 'tell'

If you mention the person who is being spoken to

as well as what was said, use tell.

He told me that he was a farmer.

I told her what the doctor had said.

See say, tell

4. 'talk'

See speak - talk