Say Tell Talk Speak

Say

• Mostly used without an object – ex. He said that I was annoying.

• If you need to add an object, use a preposition – That’s what he said to me!

Tell

• Tell is different from say because tell is used to give instructions/directions –ex. The teacher told us to sit down and read quietly.

• With tell, we normally include the person who was listening –ex. I told Steve to eat more pizza.

• Tell is used for repeating –ex. I already told you to wait patiently. I won’t tell you again.

• Lastly, we say tell in these circumstances:

tell a story (or a lie or the truth)

tell the time

tell a joke

Talk

• Use with conversation and typical communication –ex. Jennifer was talking to Erin, but Jeff couldn’t hear them. AJ talked about the vacation idea. (Use a preposition if you are using an object.)

Speak

• The most common use is for direct one-way communication –ex. The lecturer spoke about being mortal. (The lecturer is speaking, and the audience is listening, not talking.)

• We also use speak with languages –ex. Do you speak English well?

• Talk and speak are similar, but talk is for more casual, normal conversation.