Reporting Verbs Exercises PDFSet 1: Say vs Tell: The Core Distinction
20 questions·12 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1.She ___ that she was feeling tired.
a) toldb) askedc) spoked) said
2.He ___ me that the meeting was cancelled.
a) saidb) toldc) spoked) talked
3.The teacher ___ us to open our books.
a) saidb) spokec) toldd) talked
4."I'll be late," she ___ to her boss.
a) toldb) askedc) saidd) spoke
5.Can you ___ me the truth?
a) tellb) sayc) speakd) talk
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.said
2.told
3.told
4.said
5.tell
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."said"(d)
'Say' is used when we report someone's words without mentioning the listener. We say 'said that...' — not 'told that...' (tell needs a person: told me/him/her).
2."told"(b)
'Tell' is used when we mention the listener (me, him, her, us, them). The pattern is: tell + person + that clause. 'Said me' is incorrect.
3."told"(c)
When reporting instructions or commands, we use 'tell + person + to-infinitive': told us to open. 'Said us to open' is grammatically incorrect.
4."said"(c)
'Say' can be followed by 'to + person' when we want to mention the listener: said to her boss. Note: 'told to her boss' is wrong — tell takes a direct object without 'to'.
5."tell"(a)
'Tell the truth' is a fixed expression. Other common 'tell' expressions include: tell a lie, tell a story, tell a joke, tell the time, tell the difference.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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