List T

Talking: Say, Tell, Ask, Speak, Talk, Answer, Reply

Say (say/said/said)

We use say when we report someone’s words.

  • She said ‘This is horrible!’
  • He said that he wanted a drink.

We use say when we ask about language.

  • a: How do you say ‘book’ in Spanish? b: ‘Libro’.

We say hello / goodbye   please / thank you /Happy Birthday / Merry Christmas / Happy New Year / Congratulations

Tell (tell/told/told)

Tell is usually followed immediately by a person. Say is not followed immediately by a person.

  • He told me his name. [not He said me his name.]

We use tell when we want to know how to get to a place.

  • Can you tell me where the bus station is, please? [not Can you say me …?]

We use tell with other wh- words too (when, how, why, where), e.g. you can tell someone how to do something, where something is, why something happened.

  • He told me how to send a fax.
  • Tell me when you want to have dinner.
  • You can tell someone the time / a story / a joke / your name / address / telephone number.

Ask

Ask is used for questions.

  • My sister asked me where I was going, (or My sister asked (me) ‘Where are you going?’)
  • a: Can I ask you a question? b: Yes.
  • a: What day of the week were you born? b: Thursday.

You can ask someone the way / the time / a question.

Ask somebody to do something and ask someone for something.

  • I asked him to turn off his radio, (or I said ‘Please turn off your radio.’
  • She asked for the bill, (or She said ‘Can I have the bill please?’)

Speak/talk/answer/reply

Do you speak Japanese?   [not Do you -talk Japanese?]

I like talking to you. (having a conversation with you)

Can you answer the telephone / the door, please?
(pick up the phone / open the door to see who it is)

I wrote a letter to him but he did not reply.
(for letters/faxes/e-mails) (he did not send me a letter

too- either

We use too and either at the end of a sentence.

We use too after a positive verb: We use either after a negative verb:
• A: I‘m happy. • A: I‘m not happy.
B: I’m happy too. B: I‘m not happy either, (not ‘I‘m not… too’)
• A: I enjoyed the film. • A: I can’t cook.
B: I enjoyed it too. B: I can‘t either, (not ‘I can’t too’)
• Mary is a doctor. Her husband is a doctor too. • Bill doesn’t watch TV. He doesn‘t read newspapers either.

Have -Take – Pay

Have

Note that these verbs collocate with have rather than any other verb (e.g. get or make).

collocation example
have an accident Mr Grey had an accident last night but he’s OK now.
have an argument / a row We had an argument / a row about how to fix the car.
have a break Let’s have a break when you finish this exercise.
have a conversation/chat I hope we’ll have time to have a chat after the meeting.
have difficulty The class had difficulty understanding what to do.
have a dream/nightmare I had a nightmare last night.
have an experience I had a frightening experience the other day.
have a feeling I have a feeling that something is wrong.
have fun / a good time I’m sure you’ll have fun on the school trip.
have a look The teacher wanted to have a look at what we were doing.
have a party Let’s have a party at the end of term.
have a problem / problems Ask the teacher if you have problems with the exercise.
have a try/go I’ll explain what to do and then you can have a go/try.

Pay

collocation example
pay attention You must pay attention to the teacher.
pay a compliment I was trying to pay her a compliment but she misunderstood.
pay your (last) respects At a funeral people pay their last respects to the person who has died.
pay tribute [formal] When Jack retired, his boss made a speech paying tribute to all he had done for the company.