Unit 49. He said that …/ He told me that …

After said that / told (somebody) that… a verb is usually past:

am/is -> was	(she said) ‘I'm working.’ -> She said that she was working. (they said to us) ‘The hotel isn't very good.’ -> They told us that the hotel wasn't very good.
are -> were	(I said) ‘The shops are open.’ -> I said that the shops were open.
have/has -> had	(I said to him) ‘I've finished my work.’ -> I told him that I had finished my work.
can -> could	(Tom said) ‘I can't come to the party.’ -> Tom said that he couldn't come to the party.
will -> would	(my friends said to me) ‘The exam will be easy.’ -> My friends told me that the exam would be easy.
do/does -> did	(I said) ‘It doesn't matter.’ -> I said that it didn't matter. (he said) ‘I don't know your address.’ -> He said that he didn't know my address.
like -> liked go -> went (etc.)	(Mary said) ‘I like tomatoes.’ -> Mary said that she liked tomatoes. (they said) ‘We often go to the cinema.’ -> They said that they often went to the cinema.

say (-> said) and tell (-> told)

say something (to somebody): They said that… (not ‘They said me that …’)
tell somebody something: They told me that… / They told Ann that…

- He said that he was tired. (not ‘He said me that he was tired.’)
but He told me that he was tired. (not ‘He told that he was tired.’)
- What did he say to you? (not ‘say you’)
but What did he tell you? (not ‘tell to you’)

‘that’ is not necessary in these sentences. You can say:

- He said that he was tired. or He said he was tired. (without ‘that’)

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