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
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
- 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
- Stories about annoying colleagues told at home are private and should not be repeated outside.
- Many parents wait about three months before telling people, because the early weeks are the most uncertain.
- Afterwards everyone goes to the pub, and some people even laugh while telling stories about Grandad.
- Voting is secret, so nobody has to tell anyone how they voted, not even their own family.
- If a grown-up's anger ever makes you frightened for your safety, tell another trusted adult.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tell» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.