tell
part of speech
verb (tell, tells, told, telling); noun (a tell — a sign that gives you away, in games)
meaning for a pupil
1) To tell is to say something to someone so they know it. tree →
2) To tell a story or a joke is to say it out loud for others. tree →
3) To tell can mean to know or see a difference: «I can't tell the twins apart». tree →
4) To tell someone to do something is to order them. tree →
5) To tell the time is to read a clock. tree →
6) To tell on someone is to report them to a grown-up (kids also say «dob in» in Australia and NZ, «snitch» or «grass» in rude slang). tree →
7) (casual) «I'm telling you», «tell me about it» mean «I agree, it's true». tree →
8) (rude) To tell someone off is to scold them; «tell him where to go» means be rude to him. tree →
9) (formal) Exams say «state», «indicate», «specify», «inform» or «determine» for tell. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: On Passover Jews are commanded to tell their children the story of leaving Egypt, and the seder's book, the Haggadah, comes from a word meaning telling. In the primary lessons: which operation a word signals: cue words tell us what to do; «tell how many» asks for an answer; in daily life we tell the truth, tell the time and tell an adult when something is wrong; phrases: «tell the truth», «tell a lie», «tell apart», «tell the time», «tell on someone», «tell off», «you can tell»; in casual talk «I'm tellin' ya», «tell me about it», «don't tell Mum»; in rough talk «tell anyone and you're dead» (a threat: tell an adult anyway), «snitch»; in the exam voice «state the number», «indicate which», «specify»
examples
- And he told Laban all these things. (Torah GEN.29.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- And He said: 'Who told thee that thou wast naked? (Torah GEN.3.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- So Moses went down unto the people, and told them. (Torah EXO.19.25, JPS 1917) tree →
- But he told not his father. (Prophets 1SA.14.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- Wherefore they came back, and told him. (Prophets 2KI.9.36, JPS 1917) tree →
- And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. (Writings EST.4.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- The words «more», «in all», «altogether» and «in total» tell us to add. tree →
- Tell how many apples are left. tree →
- Grandpa told us a story about a bear. tree →
- Can you tell the time on this clock? tree →
- Always tell an adult if a stranger asks you to go with them. tree →
- I can't tell which twin is Sam. tree →
- Mum told me off for eating 5 biscuits. tree →
- I'm telling ya, it's 12, I counted twice. tree →
- «This bus is always late.» «Tell me about it.» tree →
- Tell anyone and you're dead, ya snitch. tree →
- State the number of items remaining. tree →
- You can tell he's tired: he's yawning. tree →
note
Past: told. You tell someone something; you say something (to someone). Wrong: «She said me»; right: «She told me». Carries no operation clue itself; it points to the cue words or asks for an answer. «State», «indicate», «specify» in an exam mean tell. Safety: a threat like «tell anyone and you're dead» is a reason to tell a trusted adult, not to keep quiet; telling to keep someone safe is not snitching.
In the corpora
- And He said: 'Who told thee that thou wast naked?
- And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
- and said: 'Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee.
- And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words.
- And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tell» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.