XI - A BIT CONFUSED Tell, say & speak

TELL, SAY, & SPEAK

These three words mean more or less the same thing. It's more a question of how we use them, of patterns of use.

With 'tell' we usually say who is told. You could say there is a personal object, so: 'Can you tell me what's happened?' We say, 'me'.

With 'say' we don't usually say who is told. So you might say 'please say each word clearly and distinctly'. And if we do say who is told, we use the word 'to', so: 'He said goodbye to me as if we would never see one another again'.

Now... There's another limit on the usage of 'tell'. We only use 'tell' to mean instruct or inform. 'I told him to wait for me on the platform'... that's an instruction. "My father used to tell me wonderful stories" - informing me.

'Say' can be used for any kind of talking. So here are three sentences where you could not use 'tell':

She said 'Where have you been?'
So I said what a good idea.
Maureen said 'What's the matter?' 

We use 'tell' without a personal object in a few expressions, that are kind of fixed expressions like tell the truth, tell the time and tell the difference.

And we use 'say' before words like a word, a name, or a sentence. An example would be: 'Don't say a word.'

That's 'tell' and 'say'. You also asked about 'speak'. We use 'speak' to mean 'talk formally', and when we do use 'speak', we use the word 'to' if there's a personal object. So you could say, 'I spoke to him severely' or 'She spoke to our teachers' association last year'.

And of course we use it when we're talking about people's language ability: 'Do you speak English?'

XII - A BIT CONFUSED Commonly confused words

Commonly confused words

Take a look at these two sentences – one of them contains a mistake:

I poured over book after book.

We pored over the catalogues.

Are you uncertain which one is right? There are a lot of words in English that look or sound alike but have very different meanings, such as pore and pour or flauntand flout. It’s easy to get them confused and most electronic spellcheckers won’t be much help in this type of situation: they can tell you if a word has been spelled wrongly but they can’t generally flag up the misuse of a correctly spelled word.

Here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems. The words follow the accepted British English spelling. Some of them do have alternative American spellings and you will find these at the main dictionary entry on this website.

Word 1	Meaning	Word 2	Meaning
accept	to agree to receive or do	except	not including
adverse	unfavourable, harmful	averse	strongly disliking; opposed
advice	recommendations about what to do	advise	to recommend something
affect	to change or make a difference to	effect	a result; to bring about a result
aisle	a passage between rows of seats	isle	an island
all together	all in one place, all at once	altogether	completely; on the whole
along	moving or extending horizontally on	a long	referring to something of great length
aloud	out loud	allowed	permitted
altar	a sacred table in a church	alter	to change
amoral	not concerned with right or wrong	immoral	not following accepted moral standards
appraise	to assess	apprise	to inform someone
assent	agreement, approval	ascent	the action of rising or climbing up
aural	relating to the ears or hearing	oral	relating to the mouth; spoken
balmy	pleasantly warm	barmy	foolish, crazy
bare	naked; to uncover	bear	to carry; to put up with
bated	in phrase 'with bated breath', i.e. in great suspense	baited	with bait attached or inserted
bazaar	a Middle Eastern market	bizarre	strange
berth	a bunk in a ship, train, etc.	birth	the emergence of a baby from the womb
born	having started life	borne	carried
bough	a branch of a tree	bow	to bend the head; the front of a ship
brake	a device for stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle	break	to separate into pieces; a pause
breach	to break through, or break a rule; a gap	breech	the back part of a gun barrel
broach	to raise a subject for discussion	brooch	a piece of jewellery
canvas	a type of strong cloth	canvass	to seek people’s votes
censure	to criticize strongly	censor	to ban parts of a book or film; a person who does this
cereal	a grass producing an edible grain; a breakfast food made from grains	serial	happening in a series
chord	a group of musical notes	cord	a length of string; a cord-like body part
climactic	forming a climax	climatic	relating to climate
coarse	rough	course	a direction; a school subject; part of a meal
complacent	smug and self-satisfied	complaisant	willing to please
complement	to add to so as to improve; an addition that improves something	compliment	to praise or express approval; an admiring remark
council	a group of people who manage or advise	counsel	advice; to advise
cue	a signal for action; a wooden rod	queue	a line of people or vehicles
curb	to keep something in check; a control or limit	kerb	(in British English) the stone edge of a pavement
currant	a dried grape	current	happening now; a flow of water, air, or electricity
defuse	to make a situation less tense	diffuse	to spread over a wide area
desert	a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone	dessert	the sweet course of a meal
discreet	careful not to attract attention	discrete	separate and distinct
disinterested	impartial	uninterested	not interested
draught	a current of air	draft	a first version of a piece of writing
draw	an even score at the end of a game	drawer	a sliding storage compartment
dual	having two parts	duel	a fight or contest between two people
elicit	to draw out a reply or reaction	illicit	not allowed by law or rules
ensure	to make certain that something will happen	insure	to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged
envelop	to cover or surround	envelope	a paper container for a letter
exercise	physical activity; to do physical activity	exorcise	to drive out an evil spirit
fawn	a young deer; light brown	faun	a mythical being, part man, part goat
flaunt	to display ostentatiously	flout	to disregard a rule
flounder	to move clumsily; to have difficulty doing something	founder	to fail
forbear	to refrain	forebear	an ancestor
foreword	an introduction to a book	forward	onwards, ahead
freeze	to turn to ice	frieze	a decoration along a wall
grisly	gruesome, revolting	grizzly	a type of bear
hoard	a store	horde	a large crowd of people
imply	to suggest indirectly	infer	to draw a conclusion
loath	reluctant, unwilling	loathe	to hate
loose	to unfasten; to set free	lose	to be deprived of; to be unable to find
meter	a measuring device	metre	a metric unit; rhythm in verse
militate	to be a powerful factor against	mitigate	to make less severe
palate	the roof of the mouth	palette	a board for mixing colours
pedal	a foot-operated lever	peddle	to sell goods
pole	a long, slender piece of wood	poll	voting in an election
pour	to flow or cause to flow	pore	a tiny opening; to study something closely
practice	the use of an idea or method; the work or business of a doctor, dentist, etc.	practise	to do something repeatedly to gain skill; to do something regularly
prescribe	to authorize use of medicine; to order authoritatively	proscribe	to officially forbid something
principal	most important; the head of a school	principle	a fundamental rule or belief
sceptic	a person inclined to doubt	septic	infected with bacteria
sight	the ability to see	site	a location
stationary	not moving	stationery	writing materials
storey	a level of a building	story	a tale or account
titillate	to arouse interest	titivate	to make more attractive
tortuous	full of twists; complex	torturous	full of pain or suffering
wreath	a ring-shaped arrangement of flowers etc.	wreathe	to surround or encircle