Dans le discours indirect, nous pouvons utiliser soit 'say' soit 'tell'. Le sens est le même, mais la grammaire est différente. En voici un exemple :
Discours direct:
- John: "I'll be late".
- John said (that) he would be late.
- John told me (that) he was going to be late.
Avec 'tell' nous avons BESOIN de l'objet (par exemple: 'me', 'you', 'her', 'his friend'...).
Avec "say", nous NE POUVONS PAS utiliser l'objet (par exemple: 'me', 'them', 'us').
Nous ne pouvons donc pas dire:
- “
John said me that he would be late.” - “
John told that he would be late.”
Voici quelques exemples corrects:
- Julie said (that) she'd come to the party.
- I said (that) I was going to bed early.
- He told me (that) he loved living in London.
- They told John (that) they would arrive at six.
"She told me to sit down".