"Say" or "tell"? - finalmente capito!

Hi there,

I hope you’ve had a great week.

Welcome back to The English Breakfast—the newsletter for Italian professionals who want to feel more confident using English at work.

Grab yourself a coffee and let’s go…

“I said him yesterday” ❌

This sentence is incorrect — but why?

Watch this week’s short video to find out what the problem is and how to fix it 🇮🇹 ▶️ 

@danieltannerenglish

Ma si dice say o tell? 🤔 #ingleseperitaliani #learnenglish #imparareinglese #englishtips #businessenglish #improveyourenglish #ingles

📓 Here’s what you need to know

In English, dire can translate to say or tell, but let me give you a quick tip to remember the difference.

You say something

Say is always followed by the thing, idea or sentence someone talked about.

• He said he’d be late.

• What did you say?

• Like my mamma always used to say. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

You tell someone

Tell is always followed by a person.

• He told me he’d be late.

• Tell me that again, I didn’t understand.

• Like my mamma always used to tell me. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

Say or tell? 🎲 

It’s time for a quiz. Test your understanding with this quick activity. Complete the phrases using say or tell, but be careful - the verbs can be in any form (present, past etc.)

➡️ Do the quiz ⬅️ 

Everyone loves Anne Hathaway 🎧️ 

Let’s do some listening practice with everyone’s favourite actress, Anne Hathaway.

There are 5 uses of say and 2 uses of tell in this interview. See how many you can hear!

🗣 Want to Speak English with Confidence?

If you want to:

• Feel relaxed speaking English at work

• Understand your English-speaking colleagues

• Learn in a fun, professional way

…then why not take a private course with me?

My lessons are personalised and designed to help you feel more natural and confident in real conversations.

📩 Just hit reply and tell me your goals—I’ll help you get there!

All right, that’s it for today’s edition. What did you think? Reply to this email and let me know 📧 

“😍 Loved it”

“🙂 It was OK”

“😐️ There was nothing for me“

Have a great week.

Dan

#englishlesson #learnenglish #learnenglishforfree #speakenglish #howtospeakenglishfluently #englishconversation #englishgrammar #fluentenglish #businessenglish #ingleseperitaliani #imparainglese #inglese #ingleseperlavoro #pronunciainglese #grammaticainglese #englishteacher #englishcoach #insegnatediinglese

All rights belong to the owners. No copyright infringement intended.