Say and tell

Say is usually used without a personal object. After tell, we usually say who is told. That means tell is always followed by a personal object. Note that if we want to put a personal object after say, we use to.

Incorrect: I said to him to go.
Correct: I told him to go.

Incorrect: He said to go.
Correct: He told me to go.

Tell and ask

Use tell when you are talking to a person you have a right to give an order to. Use ask when you are talking to a person you can only make a request to.

I told my servant to get me a cup of coffee. (More natural than 'I asked my servant to get me a cup of coffee.')
I asked the principal to excuse me. (NOT I told the principal to excuse me.)

Want

That-clauses are not normally used after want. Instead, we use an infinitive with to. An object + infinitive structure is also possible.

Incorrect: I wanted that he should get leave.
Correct: I wanted him to get leave.

Incorrect: I want that I should get leave.
Correct: I want to get leave.

Incorrect: Do you want that I make you some coffee?
Correct: Do you want me to make you some coffee?

Pain, ache etc

The verb pain should be used transitively. That is it must have an expressed object. If there is no object, we use other words with similar meanings.

Incorrect: My foot is paining.
Correct: My foot is hurting.
Correct: I have a pain in my foot.

Incorrect: My tooth is paining.
Correct: My tooth is aching.

Into, out of, onto, off

We get into and out of a car, taxi or small boat.
We get onto and off a train, plane, bus, ship, bike or horse.

Incorrect: When I got onto my car, I found the stereo had been stolen.
Correct: When I got into my car, I found the stereo had been stolen.

Incorrect: He got down from his bicycle.
Correct: He got off his bicycle.

Off can indicate separation. Out and down are not used with this meaning.

Incorrect: He took out his shoes.
Correct: He took off his shoes.

Incorrect: Take down your coat.
Correct: Take off your coat.

Hear and listen

Hear is the ordinary word to say that something comes to our ears. Listen (to) is used to talk about paying attention to sounds that one hears. Note that you can hear something without wanting to, but you can only listen to something deliberately.

Incorrect: He would not hear me.
Correct: He would not listen to me.

Incorrect: Suddenly I listened to a strange noise.
Correct: Suddenly I heard a strange noise

Manjusha Nambiar is the founder and editor of www.PerfectYourEnglish.com. Her site gives free reference guides to English Grammar and English Vocabulary.

[Edited by Administrator (admin) Wed, 06 Jul 2011, 03:45 PM]