The guide to Reported Speech (2: 'Say' and 'tell')

You will probably need to read part one of this 'Guide to Reported Speech' before continuing...

In this entry, we are going to see the difference between the most frequent reporting verbs in statements: say and tell:

TO SAY:
SAY - SAID - SAID

SAY SOMETHING
Mary said (that) she loved music.
SAY TO SOMEONE SOMETHING
Mary said to Sam (that) she loved music.

TO TELL:
TELL - TOLD - TOLD

TELL SOMEONE SOMETHING
Mary told Sam (that) she loved music.