Say, Tell, Talk & Speak
Level B1 · Reported Speech
say, tell, talk, and speak all relate to using language, but they take different grammar and suit different situations. say and tell report the exact content of what was communicated (say focuses on the words, tell focuses on informing a listener); talk and speak focus on the act of communicating itself, often without reporting the content. She said hello (the words); She told me the news (informed me of content); We talked for hours (the activity of conversing); He spoke to the manager (the activity of communicating with someone).
How each verb is used:
- say + words/that-clause, never followed directly by a person: She said hello; She said (that) she was tired — never say me something; to mention the listener, add to: She said hello to me.
- tell + person (+ object), always needs a listener directly after it, no to: She told me the news; She told me (that) she was tired — never tell to me.
- talk and speak both mean 'have a conversation' or 'use language aloud', and are usually followed by a preposition when a listener or topic is added: We talked to/with each other for hours; She spoke to the manager about the problem. speak often suggests a more formal, one-directional act (a speech, a language), while talk suggests a more casual, two-way conversation.
- Fixed expressions favor one verb over the others: tell a story/a lie/the truth/a joke; talk sense/nonsense; speak a language (I speak French, never say/tell French).
The most common mistake is using tell without a listener, copying the pattern of say — tell that you're coming is wrong; tell always needs a person: tell me that you're coming, or switch to say: say that you're coming. A second mistake is adding to directly after say before a person — say me the truth is wrong; use tell me the truth, or add to after say: say the truth to me.
Ask whether a specific listener is named right after the verb with no preposition — if yes, it's tell (tell me, tell him); say never works that way, needing to before a person. For talk and speak, look for a conversation or an act of using language, usually followed by to/with (a person) or about (a topic) — speak leans more formal or one-way, talk leans more casual or two-way.