 Difference between say, tell, and speak from EspressoEnglish.net. Tell, present, and told, past mean to give information verbally to a person. Tell and told are always followed by a person. Me, you, him, her, us, them, John, Jane, the teacher, etc. For example, tell me about your trip. I told you not to eat the cookies. You should tell her how you feel. He told everyone the story. The police told us not to worry. With say, present, and said, past, we can use the following sentence structures. Number one, say something. Francis says the store is closed. Number two, say that something. I said that I wasn't interested. Number three, say to someone. What did your parents say to you? Number four, something a person said. Nice to meet you, Harry said. Don't make this common mistake. He said me that he had to leave. The correct sentence is, he told me that he had to leave. You speak, present, and spoke, past, with languages and with talking in general. No specific details. We can use speak with someone and speak to someone. For example, I speak English. Does Donna speak Italian? We spoke to the manager. I need to speak with you urgently. Remember, you say something or say that something. You tell someone something and you speak in general terms. Speak with someone or speak to someone. Visit www.espressoenglish.net for more English tips. If you like this video, please share.