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Today's episode is about say and tell, a topic that has confused people time and time again. What we'll do is go over the difference between them, talk about some collocations, expressions, and idioms, and get into some examples and ways of using them. So let's get to it. You are listening to episode 137 of English with Dane. Hit it! Okay, we have officially started the show, so let's talk about say and tell.
Some of you already know the difference, but for those of you who don't, I like to think of say as decir and tell as contar. But hold on, because I'm oversimplifying and that leads to trouble. I think it's better to think about these verbs in a different way. Think that say can be used for decid in general, maybe just out loud, while tell usually involves someone else. I think that's the key really. Tell involves someone else.
Some of you are now thinking of examples to disprove this, I know, but it's just a helpful tactic. We have to mention that in reported speech they work a bit differently too. Reported speech is when someone tells you what someone else said. For example, she told me she would be late. That's reported speech. So, like I said, in reported speech, say and tell work a bit differently.
Say is more commonly used when we are focusing on the words someone said, while tell is more used to talk about the content or the message. For example, he said I'm not going to wait versus he told them he wasn't going to wait. Do you know what I mean? Hope it's clear. Now I'd like to take a look at common phrases or collocations that you'll hear with both say and tell to make sure you don't make these mistakes.
I want to make sure you're prepared next time you speak to someone in English, so let's go. First up is tell the truth. The sir la verdad. To tell the truth. We don't say the truth in English, we tell it. Check it out. A few quick examples from the Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight, and Silence of the Lambs.
Sir, he's telling the truth. When I say that you and your girlfriend was nothing personal, you know that I'm telling the truth.
You were telling me the truth back in Baltimore, sir. Please continue now.
We also tell lies, by the way. We don't say lies, we tell them. You can also just use the verb to lie. There's no verb for telling the truth, well, that I know of. You can lie, but you can't true or truth. You have to tell the truth. Next, I wanted to talk about a classic mistake a lot of people make. I'm talking about tell to me, tell to him, tell to her, etc. We never say that. We simply use tell followed by the person or pronoun.
We say tell her, tell him, tell John, tell Amy, etc. If we want someone to do something, we use to but after the pronoun. Tell Amy to call the client. Tell John to meet us at the restaurant. I never want to hear you say tell to. Next, I want to talk about say. Here's a classic collocation. Say something. Dial, of course. Very different to tell me something. You'll hear people say say something in situations of desperation or frustration a lot of the time.
When you want someone to show you that they are okay after an incident, or when you are having a one-sided conversation, and you just want the other person to give you anything at all, but they are staying silent. Here are some examples from Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and Star Wars.
Quiet, quiet, he's gonna say something.
I'm pretty tired.
You hear me? Say something. You can repair him, can't you? Some other collocations with say include to say hello, to say goodbye, to say sorry, to say thank you, to say a prayer, etc. Now let's go through some idioms with the verb to say. Say no more, which means it is not necessary to explain any further.
Why are we having funny jokes?
Listen, honey, I've got a quiet.
Say no more. Go save the world one policy of the time, honey.
Again, that's say no more. It's funny because don't say anything else is maybe what you would say, lo que dirías, to someone if you were telling them to literally say no more. But because it's an idiom, we say say no more. Again, you would only use this in the context of don't keep explaining because I got it.
Say no more.
Next, we have can't say that I have, which basically means I have not. For example, hey, have you ever gone scuba diving? Nope, can't say that I have. Here's an example from Lord of the Rings. There's this tree thing, sorry, I haven't seen Lord of the Rings, that asks a question, and then he gets this idiom as an answer.
I don't suppose you've seen emptwives in the Shire.
I can't say that I have.
Also, note how he asks the question. He says, I don't suppose you've seen. That's like saying, No habrás visto. Listen again.
I don't suppose you've seen empty wives in the shire.
I can't say that I have.
Next up is I'm just saying. This one is really useful. I'm just saying is an idiom that is used when you want to point something out that is maybe a bit uncomfortable and you want to kind of distance yourself from any negative intent. It's like saying, Yo solo lo comendo or something like that. You use it when you're criticizing something or someone or making a complaint to make it less offensive. It's informal.
Here's Leo telling Jack Nicholson he's old in the departed, infiltrados, here in Spain.
Look.
He's seven years old, Frank, I'm just saying, okay? Alright, let's do a few with tell now. First, we have Time Will Tell, or only Time Will Tell, which, as you can imagine, means that the true meaning or result will only be evident after some time passes. Here's an example from Ratatouille, which by the way is an underrated movie.
Against all odds, Gustav has recaptured our attention. Only time will tell if they deserve it.
Next up is to tell someone point blank. So to be very direct and blunt with a statement. For example, he told them point blank that their food was terrible. Point blank refers to shooting a gun from very close to the target, like he was shot point blank. So when you tell someone point blank, it means you are being extremely direct and blunt. Blunt is the opposite of sharp, by the way, the opposite of affilado or puntiagudo. But it also means very direct and without much tact.
Here's an example from Breaking Bad.
So I just told him point blind. You're my husband, and I love you.
And last but not least, we have I'll tell you what. This is a really interesting one, I think. We use it to emphasize what we're about to say, to give way, dar paso, to give way to an opinion or suggestion, usually. You can say something like, and I'll tell you what, I never really liked him either. This one is maybe tricky to get used to because meterun what feels out of place, but practice it and it'll sound normal after a while. Here's the last example, also from Pulp Fiction.
I'll tell you what.
I'm gonna go to the bathroom and pattern my nose. You sit here and think of something to say.
I'll do that. Alright, that's it for this episode of English with Dane. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed it, and more importantly, I hope you learned something. Don't forget to follow EnglishwithDane on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen, and please share this podcast with a friend, co-worker, family member, or anyone who you think would enjoy it.
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