say or tell

Word

Explanation

Example

say

to say something (say is followed immediately by a noun clause)

If you want to put a personal object after say, use the word to.

Andrew said that he was right.


He said to his father that he was right.

tell

to tell someone something (tell is followed by an object noun or pronoun)

Can you tell me the way to the station, please?

Note:
In formal situations, the verb must be formed in the past tense.
Andrew told me that he was right.

Informal it is ok to say:
Andrew told me that he is right.

Some might say that he was right.

some people believe

It is said to bring good luck.

in the sense of "always"

No one goes home without my say-so.

used as a statement

Let me have my say.

say is used as a noun