Difference between say and tell

[Guest]

Test No. incompl/inter-9 "Say/Tell", question 2

I've ......... you not to do that many times before.

(a) told
(b) saying
(c) says
(d) said

Test No. incompl/inter-9 "Say/Tell", answer 2

I've told you not to do that many times before.

Correct answer: (a) told
_________________________

QUE ES SAY-TELL

[Alan]

Your question: What are say and tell? These two verbs are alternatives for speak. You say words You tell a story.
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Phrasal Verbs/take

[Torsten]

You might also take a look at this one:
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic2119.html
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Pmoon]

sorry Alan, I haven't known about that mean of this sentence: I've told you not to do that many times before.
But I know that I must use " told " in this case.
thank you very much!

[RichardW]

Hi.
Thank you Torsten and Alan.
as far as I'm concerned.
1-You can tell someone about something ( Did you tell Linda about accident....? (NOT say to Linda about...)
2-You can say to do something, but it is more usual to tell someone to do something
The teacher told us to open our books (NOT said us/said to us to...).
3- say is not normally followed by an object. For example, it cannot be followed by 'a story', 'a lie', 'some information', or 'an answer'. You tell a story, a joke, a lie, or the truth
4-You use say when you are mentioning someone's exact words. for instance, 'Hello,' she said. or Someone said, 'Let's go!'
_________________
The limits of my language are the limits of my universe.
Ludwig Wittgenstein