say & tell | explain & clarify | English grammar in conversation | QUIZ

Are you sometimes unsure how to use the verbs  say, tell, explain, and clarify correctly?

Hello and welcome everyone, this is Minoo at Anglo-Link.

I often hear mistakes in the way these verbs are used.

They're quite similar in meaning, but not in structure.

In this lesson, we're going to look at the common mistakes I hear and review all the correct forms.

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Right! Let's start by looking at the verb 'say'.

There are two sentences here. Which one sounds more correct to you?

I said to him that I was surprised.

Or: I said him that I was surprised.

The correct answer is a) I said to him that I was surprised.

With the verb 'say', you need the preposition 'to'.

Right! Let's look at the verb 'tell'.

Which one is correct here?

I told to him that I was surprised.

Or: I told him that I was surprised.

I'm sure you guessed the correct answer now is b) I told him that I was surprised.

You don't need 'to' with 'tell'.

Right! Let's look at the next one.

Say or tell. Which one sounds more correct to you?

I said that I was surprised. Or: I told that I was surprised.

The correct answer is: I said that I was surprised.

This is because in this kind of structure, if you don't mention the person you were talking to, you can only use 'say'.

Right! Let's look at say and tell in some phrases.

Which one of these sounds more correct to you?

I told him goodbye. I told goodbye to him. I said him goodbye. Or: I said goodbye to him.

The correct answer here is d) I said goodbye to him.

Let's look at some other phrases with 'say'.

Say hello to your mum.

Say something nice to me.

Have you said your prayers today?

Say this word out loud.

Okay, let's look at another phrase and decide whether we should use say or tell and how.

Is it: She told me a story. She told a story to me.

She said me a story. Or: She said a story to me.

Which one sounds more correct to you?

The correct answer here is a) She told me a story.

And here are some other phrases with 'tell'.

He tells good jokes.

He told me several jokes.

She never tells lies.

She always tells us the truth.

Right! That's all for say and tell.

Let's move onto the verb 'explain'.

We'll look at explain in three structures.

In the first structure, we have two separate clauses connected with 'that'.

Have a look and tell me which one sounds more correct.

Is it a) I explained to him that I was a beginner.

Or is it b) I explained him that I was a beginner.

The correct answer is a) I explained to him that I was a beginner.

The verb 'explained' needs the preposition 'to'.

Okay, let's look at the second structure, which is to explain something.

For example, the issue.

Which one is correct?

a) I explained him the issue. Or: I explained the issue to him.

The correct answer is b) I explained the issue to him.

And finally, the third structure,  which includes words like what, when, how, why.

Which one sounds better to you?

I explained to him what the issue was.  Or: I explained what the issue was to him.

The correct answer is a) I explained to him what the issue was.

So, when we have a noun like 'the issue'. That comes first.

You explain the issue to someone.

But when you  have a clause that starts with what, where, who, why,

as this is quite long, you put it afterwards.

I explained to him what the issue is.

Just a small note that with this structure,  you don't have to mention the person.

You can drop it if you want. So, you can say:

I explained what the issue was. Or: She explained why she had left early.

And lastly, let's look at 'clarify'.

Which one of these sentences is correct?

I clarified the issue to him. Or: I clarified the issue for him.

What's the correct preposition for clarify?

The correct preposition is 'for'.

I often hear the mistake clarify something to someone.

Make sure you say: you clarify something for someone.

Right! That's the end of this lesson.

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Thanks a lot for watching, and I'll see you again very soon in my next lesson.

Goodbye for now.