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Are you sometimes unsure how to use the verbs 
 say, tell, explain, and clarify correctly?

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Hello and welcome everyone, this is Minoo at Anglo-Link.

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I often hear mistakes in the way these verbs are used.

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They're quite similar in meaning, but not in structure.

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In this lesson, we're going to look at 
 the common mistakes I hear and review all the correct forms.

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If you'd like a PDF version of this lesson, please join 
 Anglo-Link's PDF Library using the link in the description box.

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Right! Let's start by looking at the verb 'say'.

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There are two sentences here. 
 Which one sounds more correct to you?

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I said to him that I was surprised.

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Or: I said him that I was surprised.

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The correct answer is 
 a) I said to him that I was surprised.

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With the verb 'say', you need the preposition 'to'.

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Right! Let's look at the verb 'tell'.

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Which one is correct here?

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I told to him that I was surprised.

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Or: I told him that I was surprised.

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I'm sure you guessed the correct answer now is 
 b) I told him that I was surprised.

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You don't need 'to' with 'tell'.

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Right! Let's look at the next one.

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Say or tell. Which one sounds more correct to you?

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I said that I was surprised. 
 Or: I told that I was surprised.

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The correct answer is: I said that I was surprised.

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This is because in this kind of structure, 
 if you don't mention the person you were talking to, you can only use 'say'.

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Right! Let's look at say and tell in some phrases.

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Which one of these sounds more correct to you?

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I told him goodbye. I told goodbye to him.
 I said him goodbye. Or: I said goodbye to him.

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The correct answer here is 
 d) I said goodbye to him.

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Let's look at some other phrases with 'say'.

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Say hello to your mum.

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Say something nice to me.

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Have you said your prayers today?

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Say this word out loud.

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Okay, let's look at another phrase and 
 decide whether we should use say or tell and how.

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Is it: She told me a story. She told a story to me.

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She said me a story. Or: She said a story to me.

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Which one sounds more correct to you?

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The correct answer here is 
 a) She told me a story.

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And here are some other phrases with 'tell'.

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He tells good jokes.

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He told me several jokes.

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She never tells lies.

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She always tells us the truth.

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Right! That's all for say and tell.

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Let's move onto the verb 'explain'.

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We'll look at explain in three structures.

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In the first structure, 
 we have two separate clauses connected with 'that'.

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Have a look and tell me which one sounds more correct.

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Is it a) I explained to him that I was a beginner.

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Or is it b) I explained him that I was a beginner.

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The correct answer is 
 a) I explained to him that I was a beginner. 

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The verb 'explained' needs the preposition 'to'.

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Okay, let's look at the second structure, 
 which is to explain something.

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For example, the issue.

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Which one is correct?

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a) I explained him the issue. Or: I explained the issue to him.

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The correct answer is 
 b) I explained the issue to him.

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And finally, the third structure, 
 which includes words like what, when, how, why.

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Which one sounds better to you?

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I explained to him what the issue was. 
 Or: I explained what the issue was to him.

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The correct answer is 
 a) I explained to him what the issue was.

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So, when we have a noun like 'the issue'. That comes first.

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You explain the issue to someone.

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But when you  have a clause that starts with 
 what, where, who, why,

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as this is quite long, you put it afterwards.

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I explained to him what the issue is.

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Just a small note that with this structure, 
 you don't have to mention the person.

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You can drop it if you want. So, you can say:

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I explained what the issue was. 
 Or: She explained why she had left early.

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And lastly, let's look at 'clarify'.

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Which one of these sentences is correct?

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I clarified the issue to him. 
 Or: I clarified the issue for him.

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What's the correct preposition for clarify?

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The correct preposition is 'for'.

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I often hear the mistake clarify something to someone.

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Make sure you say: you clarify something for someone.

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Right! That's the end of this lesson.

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For lessons and exercises on all topics, 
 please join my online course at

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Anglo-Link.com.

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And don't forget to subscribe and 
 allow notifications to know when my next lesson is available.

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Thanks a lot for watching, 
 and I'll see you again very soon in my next lesson.

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Goodbye for now.