The Difference Between “to say” and “to tell”
Many students have problems decided whether to use “to say” or “to tell.” This is because these two verbs are usually translated into Catalan and Spanish with the same verb: dir / decir. This is an equivalent translation. The direct translation, however, of “to tell” would be “comptar / contar,” and “to say” would be more like “afirmar.” Or in other words, “to say” focuses more on the words and “to tell” focuses more on the person or persons to whom the message was directed. For example:
- He said that it was late
Va dir que era tard / Dijo que era tarde
- He told me that it was late
Em va dir que era tard / Me dijo que era tarde
It is possible to use “to say” in the same sense as to tell, but you need to use the preposition “to.” For example:
- He told me
Em va dir / Me dijo
OR
- He said to me
M’ho va dir / Me lo dijo
- He told me it
OR
- He said it to me
(Note the difference in the position of the definite pronoun)
The general rule is that you say something
- They said yes
Va dir que sí / Dijo que sí
- He said that he was French
Va dir que era francès / Dijo que era francés
- I said that I would do it
Vaig dir que ho faria / Dije que lo haría
BUT you tell somebody:
- He told me
Em va dir / Me dijo
- I told you
Et vaig dir / Te dijo
- They told us
Ens van dir / Nos dijeron
- We told the man
Li vam dir a l’home / Le dijimos al hombre
- Tell John
Digues-li al John/Dile a John
However, there are some exceptions. For example:
- to tell the time
dir l’hora / decir la hora
- to tell a story
explicar un història / contar una historia
- to tell a lie / the truth
dir una mentida / la veritat
decir una mentira / la verdad
BUT
- He said that it was a lie
Va dir que era una mentida / Dijo que era mentida
- He said that it was the truth
Va dir que era la veritat / Dijo que era la verdad
Written by Mike Dean Alger for Aston School
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