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Speaking English – Say, Tell, Hear, Listen – How to use them correctly
‘Say’, ‘tell’, ‘hear’, and ‘listen’: Four simple words that I hear a lot of students make mistakes with. In this lesson, I explain the differences between them, and tell you how to use them all correctly. Let me know if you have any questions about the English lesson.
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Dear, James!
I want to ask you what is the difference betwen: do, cook and make? I mean, here in Mexico we have almost the same meaning for these words, obviously it depends in what context we are in. Also I’m confused when I use the past tense, is correct to use did + main verb in past tense or if i use did, i can’t use past tense in the main verb?
Your website is amazing, i believe that i will learn so much of you!!!
Thanks, and my best wishes for you.
George
Hi George,
Well in English they are similar, but they are not the same. They are all used for action but for different things:
Do:
Is used just for action but does not have a final product.
For example: if you do your homework at night, it is the action of working we are talking about.
It is also the auxiliary verb for the simple present
Make:
Is used to tell what will be produced by our actions.
For example: you make a decision, and the final product is the decision.
Cook:
Is used mostly for food and making food.
For example: you must cook a chicken before you can eat it.
As for the past tense if you use the auxiliary then the rest of the verbs are in the base form.
Ex: George didn’t have money to go to the movies
If the main verb is in the past tense, then all the verbs are in the past tense.
Ex: When George went to the movies he bought popcorn and some chocolate to eat.
I hope this helps
James
very cute response! thanks.
Hi James .how are you .I want you to teach me what are the best ways to learning english language please .and thank you
Hiii james
It’s sona from India.I would like to tell you that when I began watching videos and listening the teacher’s voices here ,I faced a lot of problems-I had to play the same video clip for more than one time to properly follow you because listening a foreign language and understanding it back at the same time was too hard to me- it was beyond my ability but as the days passed, I slowly had been able to catch..At present when you speak,I can properly get you..Your explanation ,teaching,way of delivering a concept are awesome and they relly helped me a lot to lift me to a further level-I am really grateful to you…
sorry for being forgotten to mention that when you read my message ,it is requested to you to rectify my sentences if any type of mistakes are found-keep it up James-Make me like you-I get jealous when I see you speak fluently-sometimes I ask myself that why wasn’t I born in Canada or any other English speaking country???
oh..really. the same meaning.. so wrong man..!!
you’re a good and a very interesting teacher!!!!!!!! Thanks for the help :)
dear james i want to ask you what is difference betown do cook
and make? maen here an kabul we
Hi Baloch,
Look at my response to George’s questions and that should help.
James
thanks James
this is a very good lesson, and you are a very good teacher
thanks james iim glad when i saw your lesson
hi thans gays
actually its guys not gays sorry
dear, james !
i’m very hapy when i’m known you. i very like your lesson. thank you for your lesson.
i come from VIETNAM. There’s many poeple, they don’t like VIETNAMESE. and you ?
i will learn so much for you. thank you for your lesson, too.
hi james
what is the difference between shall and should, and what time i use them…and “can” “could” and be able, i’ve watched some other people’s example but i’m still confused….i like the way you teach english, you used simple words, and thats what it suppose to be, and how you started with finding the meaning of words, makes it more easier for me to understand….i like your sense of humour very interesting to watch…thanks james much appreciated….and can you please post more videos…:)
“Shall” is like saying “will”. “I shall return in 4 hours” = “I will return in 4 hours”. In almost all cases, you will use “will” instead of “shall” as “shall” is an older English word that is rarely use these days.
Should means that something is expected. “The class should be over by 4 o’clock” = “I am expecting the class to be over by 4 o’clock (but I’m not 100% sure).
Can and could are from the same infinitive, which means “to be able”. “Can” is the present tense. “I can cook” means the same as “I am able to cook”. “Could” is past tense when it is followed with “have”. “I could have cooked” = “I was able to cook”. Otherwise, it can be used as future tense, and implies that there is a “possibility”. “I could be wrong” = “I might be wrong”…
You have asked some very good questions, as those words are very versatile. There’s more to it than what I have, but I think it would take more than one post to explain…
I hope this helps!
Thanks for responding to questions, Richard!
thanks alot and GOOD LUCK
Hello James,
When weare talking to someone, and we do not understand very well what she said, is it correct : Say it again! or Tell it again!
Thank you.
Hello James,
‘m from Kerala, India. my english language is very poor. after attending yr class up to an extend i culd improve my language. I hope that yr class ‘ll be very very useful for the bignners.
ok. my doubt is that how we can pronounce the word “asked”?. If you don’t mind please clear my doubt. In adn. ‘m awaiting for yr valuable reply
dear james , can u say what is auxilary verbs?
when to use tell, tells, told. I just wanna master the use of these words.
told is the past tense of tell, and told must be use in past sentences. you can only use the word “tells” if the subject is singular. exp. she tells me about her life… she is singular.
Hi, nice information . thanks.
HI AGAIN. I forgot to ask you about What are uses of tell ? for instance:
tell a story. is there any
james i like the explanation. thnks
Kari..you are right.
I like the explanation too.
From Gimmi, an albanian man ( ^__^ )
My first post. I’m new here and your class was the first I saw.
Thank you very much for helping us.
Hey James, I really enjoy your class and I learned so much from you.
I have a question here, could you tell me what the difference are between ” speak” and ” tell” ?
Thanks so much.
Five stars! Could not be better!
Txs =)
Thanks a lot
James! Where is the quiz? :)
We need get the quizzes. After lesson 24-48 hour.
Hi James,
I love this website, it helps me a bunch.
I got the explanation about tell and say but could you also explain speak?
When do I use SPEAK??
Thanks!
Lyria
Thank you so much mr.jamess
Hello, James.
I’m Julia from Russia.
I want to learn English more and more
Thank you for lessons!
Hi Julia!
James is the best teacher ever!!!!!
HI how are im from Baku )) good luck
hello,james
i want to learm about surbordination or transitions word
thank you for you lessons
thank you very much. you’re a good teacher
I want to learn English more and more when i learn with engvid.com
please i want word memorise.tell me
Hi James,I am very much happy with your lesson. Thanks a lot!
Can I get an access to download freely!
Thanks again, Nani
Sir
I would like to ask you,can you tell me how do we use sait and told? and examples
Advance Thank You Very Much
Dear james
very nice simple explanation.
Learner can easily catch your method.
thanks with regards.
s.wankar
Hi james
you are a great teacher, i will not have a problem with say, tell, hear, or listen anymore.
You are the best
hi James
very interesting lessons and i would like to see more intermediate lessons too. please add somemore spoken english lesson.
thank you and all other teachers as well
Hi James! I’m a student in university of foreign languages in Russia. Thank you for your lessons, they are very informative and useful for me. I learned a lot of new things)
And I have a question. In this lesson you made an example: ” Did your hear the bird singin?” But can I say to someone : ” Listening! Birds are singing! ” Beacose in this caseI mean a prossess. Am I right?
Thanks for your tip! It’s very useful for me!
Hi!Nguyen Ha.Where are you in VN.I hope to be ur friend.We can help learning English with each other.Are you agree with idea.Hope to receive ur reply soon.
I heard that, even though I was listening to the teacher,
I think the right way should be, Listening the birds singing is a beautiful thing, or Listen! the birds are singing! but let’s wait for James’s answer, He is a teacher I’m learning English.
Cool
One more good lesson. Thanks
Hello James
I’m Rashad From Egypt and im really interested specifically in your classes and the rest of the teacher i general as well, But unfortunately to me i can find your all classes in a Sequence arrange,…. so is there any possible way to get your all classes the beganer
and the advanced lessons as well because i want to get the most benefit from this awesome website as mush as i can
thank you in advance
Rashad
dear James…. I’m very glad that I found your sait, and….I hope it will help me for my english. I’m from Kazakhstan, and I wanna learn english very much. I try very much, In our town there isn’t anybody who is foreigner, so I can’t practise my english, that’s why please give me advice, what must I do for practice? thanks……..
Hi, James! Thanks for the lessons! It’s very easy to learn English! I’m from Kazakhstan too, like Aliya!
Hi James, I want to ask you what is the difference between could, would and when should we use it?.
thank you for your lessons.
thanks
rani
Thank you for your lesson,It was very helpful. I have question ,
What is the difference between say -said-tell-told .thank you
dear jamed
i want to improve my english language, what i do please give me a good advice
Hi JAMES
I’m from Mali in a french speaking country where english is rarely spoken,i have nobody with whom i talk and discuss about sth in english but i wanna speak fluently.What are the solutions i must do,caould i have some?
Thank u for the lesson!
Only one question!
What if i was sitting at the lecture and listening to the music. and did’n hear what the teacher was talking about because of my headphones. And then the teacher asked me: “Are u hear me?” or “Are u listening to me?”???
thank u so much
sorry for my english
HI JAMES
I LIKE YOUR TEACHING,COULD YOU TELL ME HOW TO USE ANYWAY AND WHAT IT MEANS PLEASE
thanks a lot for your lesson.. it help my English much…
Hi James, is this sentence is correct?
“He Told me that he wanted to have a discount”
Thank you very much
Good day James. Your lessons are funny because of your style of teaching. Thanks for the lesson. It was helpful. I hope You wasn’t frozen. By the way the right sleeve of your sweater is dirty unfortunately. Take care
hi i really like your videos ,,I understand the explanation More than a teachers on youtube
xD
hi, my name is noemi, I want to know how i can enter in you wed site for learn english. I want to improve my english in writng and speaking, i from puerto rico.
James
Where are your quizzes???
Hi james by which method we can improve our english?
Hello.. thanks for your lessons…
Could you please tell me the difference between “chocolate milk” and “milk chocolate”
Thank you for your lessons. They will help me a lot, i know because i was looking for some help to improve my english. I’ve found in the end. Thank you a lot
this is a good lesson for ever.we all are comfortable with teacher james.
I’d like ask you one lesson about already when we can use this word middle or final of the phrases ?
this lesson helped to me very much! thanks, James!
the explanation is very good.
Thank you very much mr jemes for thes lesson
you are so kind
Thank you Jame this website is more useful for me.
Dear Sir,
ThankIng you and Other teachers for helping us…
Best Wishes,
Praveen Mohan
Hi james,
this is kind of informations we want to know for sure!thanks.
Hello, James! nice explanations))) Thanks a lot for your contributions!
Now I see the difference between these words, but still there is a problem for me with making distinctions between “speak” and “talk”
Can you make it clear for me?
Thanks)
Olga
Hi James, Thank you very much, this is really helpful for me
hello james im samah ilove english but idont skeak english and i wish skeak her
thanks a lot all engvid teachers.
i wish james will be come to korea and then he could teach me face to face. lol he’s really good teacher! actually these days i don’t that much afraid of talking eng but i think my basic skills about eng like grammars and expressions is not good so badly. i hope getting better my eng and someday i could speak fluently.!
thanks u sir james
Thank you for the lesson. It’s very helpful.
By the way, you have a really nice handwriting, especially for a left-handed person.
When I started writing as a little girl, I was naturally, that is without nobody to tell me, left-handed too but I was writing from right to left side (in French) ; I have never understood why this happened. Naturally, except with a mirror, you could read nothing !!
Still today, even if I am now writing with my right hand, I can also do it with the left one. Though, I still feel more comfortable with right-left movement.
Thank you again, best regards.
Hi sir
These videos are more usefull to learn more english
Dear James,
You sure have a funny way of teaching the differences between both… except they’re not fully accurate. You can most definitely use tell to repeat, and likewise, you can absolutely use say to provide information, give instructions, and issue orders. Your use of say and tell are accurate, but the reasons and grammar rules for doing so are not, and it’s probably because as a native speaker you use them all the time. I often enjoy your videos but I suggest you research the topic and re-make this video. Best regards!
Chris
Linguist
thanks
you are my favorite teacher :) ,but where is the quiz !!
Thaaank yaaa ^.^
Thanks for helping me to understand well to distinguish them
Thank you very much sir.It’s cool.
really i am very glad for teaching, please continue your great teaching dear, secondly i would like to ask you how could i learn english? as well as i leave in a country that uses french, regards
Hi, I am so happy to know this website. i loved it. And i have one question.
I want to know the difference among Say, Speak, and Talk.
Please help me out.
Hi James! How you doin? :)
i’m getting a slow internet connection! it takes ages before i could finish your lessons. do you have videos where i don’t have to buffer?
Thanks.
Hi James.
I took the quiz. I want to know if i did it correctly:
Say: What did mother said a while ago?
Tell: Tell me exactly what she said.
Tell: Tell her to wait for me.
Tell: It’s ridiculous to tell but i’m going to say it anyway.
I think my example made confuse. :) please correct me.
Thanks a bunch.
Hi James !
i’m really feel listen to english very hard
hello sir! Would You tell us the difference between ‘under and beneath’, ‘above and over’.
Thank you!
hi,i want to know what’s the better way for to be well in english, thank you very much
dear james,
i want to aske you a question: i cannot do the difference betwen the present perfect, past perfect, present continous and past continous
i am waitng your answer with ilpatience….thank you very much
i want to know a better way of saying “let me see you” to indicate you want to see someone for a talk.
James you make it enjoyable to learn..I listen
to everything you had to say,but there was a distracting in the background..haha. James
dear james
I have abig proplem Ihave been lestening well for monthe untile now i didnt have abilty to speak i really frustrated from this situation .
my best wish
HEY. when I say I do have a job, why can’t I just say I have a job? some time it is the other way round!
This is my first time to use this website and i want to ask these lessons for all people or for some specific grade?
Thanks
Nicely, thoughtfully prepared lessons.
Thank you.
Can you, please, transcribe the last 3 sentences/phrases you said (told us) after writing wwww.engvid.com ?
You just swallowed them (it is not a comlaint :-)).
Thanks a lot
hi,
really I have problems with speaking, I can’t find the right words to express my ideas. how can I speak more fluently?? I have focused on tough vocabulary,yet I can’t use them while speaking I don’t know why?
very useful lesson!
Thanks :D
hello sir,this was such a good lesson. it did help me. thnx. and i really really enjoy your class.bye. :)
Hi would you please make a lesson about prepositions? eg(s) at school , beside the you , I walk in ‘through’ the doors , in , on , towards , so on. It just confusing me. Thank you. :))