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Fri 13 Mar, 2015 05:35 am
Hello everyone again,
I know that there are the expressions in English, such as : tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a secrect, tell a story, tell the time, tell the difference, tell sb one's name, tell sb the way, tell one from another etc.
As it can be seen, these expressions are used with the verb - tell . And here I have got one misunderstanding about these expressions.
Can these expressions be used with the verb - say? I mean, is it grammatacally
correct to say, say a secret, say the time etc. ? I only know that it is incorrect to say , say the truth, say a lie, say a story. But what about the others?
Accept my thanks for your help in advance,
No, the expressions are used as is, there are no replacement words. Because English is a bastard language, it is more about the exceptions than the rules.
You might ask someone "Can you tell me the time" but you wouldn't ask "Can you say the time". The second example would be used when instructing someone, say a class of young children.
@ificouldreturnit,
"Say" is basically the same as "tell" and they can be used interchangeably in some contexts. For example:
What time is it? I can't say (tell).
Tell me the secret. No, I won't say (tell).
What's the difference? I can't say (tell).
Generally, you "say" (not tell) your name, although either would be correct in most contexts, at least if you specify who you're telling: I will tell
you my name, but generally not "I will tell my name."
But let me say this....on second thought, nevermind. I aint gunna tell.
Huge thanks for your help again!
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