Tell + to-infinitive vs Say + to-infinitive
The road sign is said to be from as early as the 19th century.
Few would doubt this sentence is perfectly correct and idiomatic English and it's pretty much the same as saying "people say the road sign is from as early as the 19th century".
The road sign says to stop here.
And I think I know what this also means. It means the road sign says I should stop here. The road sign tells me to stop here. But I'm not quite sure if it's okay to say like that in English.
I'm familiar with the fact that English speakers, when they use the verb say, don't usually mention to whom they said it whereas they do when they use the similar but slightly different verb tell. Also, say can be followed by the preposition to if you need to say who's listening, but not tell because tell normally takes an indirect object.
This is my question:
The tell + to-infinitive construction is most commonly used by English speakers. So it wouldn't sound weird if the road sign tells me to stop here. But the road sign says to stop here? This doesn't sound natural to me. I've found only one English dictionary that says the say + to-infinitive construction is used in spoken English. English is not my first language and I was wondering if such usage is considered standard even if spoken informally. Thank you.
grammar
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
add a comment |
The road sign is said to be from as early as the 19th century.
Few would doubt this sentence is perfectly correct and idiomatic English and it's pretty much the same as saying "people say the road sign is from as early as the 19th century".
The road sign says to stop here.
And I think I know what this also means. It means the road sign says I should stop here. The road sign tells me to stop here. But I'm not quite sure if it's okay to say like that in English.
I'm familiar with the fact that English speakers, when they use the verb say, don't usually mention to whom they said it whereas they do when they use the similar but slightly different verb tell. Also, say can be followed by the preposition to if you need to say who's listening, but not tell because tell normally takes an indirect object.
This is my question:
The tell + to-infinitive construction is most commonly used by English speakers. So it wouldn't sound weird if the road sign tells me to stop here. But the road sign says to stop here? This doesn't sound natural to me. I've found only one English dictionary that says the say + to-infinitive construction is used in spoken English. English is not my first language and I was wondering if such usage is considered standard even if spoken informally. Thank you.
grammar
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
add a comment |
The road sign is said to be from as early as the 19th century.
Few would doubt this sentence is perfectly correct and idiomatic English and it's pretty much the same as saying "people say the road sign is from as early as the 19th century".
The road sign says to stop here.
And I think I know what this also means. It means the road sign says I should stop here. The road sign tells me to stop here. But I'm not quite sure if it's okay to say like that in English.
I'm familiar with the fact that English speakers, when they use the verb say, don't usually mention to whom they said it whereas they do when they use the similar but slightly different verb tell. Also, say can be followed by the preposition to if you need to say who's listening, but not tell because tell normally takes an indirect object.
This is my question:
The tell + to-infinitive construction is most commonly used by English speakers. So it wouldn't sound weird if the road sign tells me to stop here. But the road sign says to stop here? This doesn't sound natural to me. I've found only one English dictionary that says the say + to-infinitive construction is used in spoken English. English is not my first language and I was wondering if such usage is considered standard even if spoken informally. Thank you.
grammar
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
The road sign is said to be from as early as the 19th century.
Few would doubt this sentence is perfectly correct and idiomatic English and it's pretty much the same as saying "people say the road sign is from as early as the 19th century".
The road sign says to stop here.
And I think I know what this also means. It means the road sign says I should stop here. The road sign tells me to stop here. But I'm not quite sure if it's okay to say like that in English.
I'm familiar with the fact that English speakers, when they use the verb say, don't usually mention to whom they said it whereas they do when they use the similar but slightly different verb tell. Also, say can be followed by the preposition to if you need to say who's listening, but not tell because tell normally takes an indirect object.
This is my question:
The tell + to-infinitive construction is most commonly used by English speakers. So it wouldn't sound weird if the road sign tells me to stop here. But the road sign says to stop here? This doesn't sound natural to me. I've found only one English dictionary that says the say + to-infinitive construction is used in spoken English. English is not my first language and I was wondering if such usage is considered standard even if spoken informally. Thank you.
grammar
grammar
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
edited 10 mins ago
Choe Guevara
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
asked 31 mins ago
Choe GuevaraChoe Guevara
10610
10610
add a comment |
add a comment |
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