Sometimes these verbs are interchangeable: She said that she liked the movie She told me that she liked the movie She says that she likes cats She tells me that she likes cats To tell usually implies that you are telling it to someone To say To tell sometimes conveys a stronger emphasis, and often used when giving instructions: She told me to clean my room. (in this context, “to tell” indicates that it was an instruction, not a suggestion) She said that I should clean my room. (Is this case, it is a suggestion or an expression of an opinion that it should be done, and not a command) They told him to stop bullying (in this context, this indicates an instruction to stop bullying) They said to stop bullying (is grammatically incorrect, since the use of said is not a command and if you are wanting someone to stop being a bully, you must tell them to stop) Both can mean “to give,” as in, someone giving you a response: “She told me the answer.” This sentence is grammatically correct and implies that you were given the correct answer. “She said the answer.” This expression is not as commonly used. This could mean that the answer was spoken (that she gave “an” answer), but to does not mean it was said to a particular person (perhaps she said it in a class) nor does it imply that the answer given was correct (perhaps the answer was wrong and the teacher corrected her). Both can be used in the imperative form (giving an instruction) Say sometimes is used as a command to repeat a vocalization out loud. So perhaps someone says a new word to you in English and you want to hear the pronunciation again. Then you would tell the person, “Say it again.” Tell can also be used as a command. If a person is has shared a specific story and you want them to repeat it in a new situation, you would ask them to: “Tell it again.” Tell is always the word used in reference to sharing a story.

'Tell someone something' means to give someone information. It refers to the content of what you say e.g. tell me what happened, tell me about your job. We also use 'tell' in set phrases, such as 'tell a story', 'tell the truth' and so on. 'Say something' refers more to the words used e.g. say 'Hello', say 'Thank you'. The important thing to remember is that 'tell' always has an object. If you use 'tell' you need to refer to the person addressed. For example, you can't say 'He told that he was sorry.' You have to say either: He said that he was sorry. or He told his teacher that he was sorry.

Use SAY for quotes and indirect speech. The indirect object uses "to me/you/us/" and usually follows the quoted speech. Example: She said to us, "Good morning." She said that she will teach us. Use TELL for indirect speech. The indirect object comes immediately after the verb. Example: She told us that she will teach us.

say smth tell smb smth or tell smth to somebody