tell
verbVerb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbspresent simple I / you / we / they tell | |
he / she / it tells | |
past simple told | |
past participle told | |
-ing form telling |
- [transitive]
(of a person )人 to give information to somebody by speaking or writing 告诉;告知 - tell something to somebody
He told the news to everybody he saw. 他逢人便讲这个消息。 - tell somebody something
He told everybody he saw the news. 他逢人便讲这个消息。 Did she tell you her name? 她告诉你她的姓名了吗? What did I tell you? (= you should have listened to my advice) 我跟你说什么来着? ‘Come closer,’ she said, ‘I want to tell you something’. “靠近点,”她说,“我想告诉你一些事情”。 - tell somebody about something
Why wasn't I told about the accident? 为什么没人把这次事故告诉我? - tell somebody/yourself (that)…
They’ve told us (that) they’re not coming. 他们已跟我们说过不来了。 I told him straight (= in a direct way) that I wasn't voting for him. 我直截了当地告诉他,我不会投他的票。 He later told the court that he had returned the money. 他后来告诉法院,他已经归还了钱。 I kept telling myself (that) everything was OK. 我不断告诉自己一切都没问题。 Are you telling me you didn't have any help with this? (= I don't believe what you have said) 你是说在这件事情上你没有得到过任何帮助吗? - tell somebody where, what, etc…
Tell me where you live. 告诉我你住哪儿。 - tell somebody + speech
‘I'm ready to go now,’ he told her. “我现在可以走了。” 他对她说。 'We hope that there will be some progress,' he told reporters. 他对记者说,我们希望会有一些进展。
Which Word? say / tellsay / tell- Say never has a person as the object. You say something or say something to somebody. Say is often used when you are giving somebody’s exact words:
say 从不以人作宾语,可说 say something 或 say something to somebody。say 常与直接引语连用: ‘Sit down,’ she said. “坐下。”她说。 Anne said, ‘I’m tired.’ 安妮说:“我累了。” Anne said (that) she was tired. 安妮说她累了。 What did he say to you? 他对你说了些什么?
不能用 say about,但可说 say something about: I want to say something/a few words/a little about my family. 我想谈谈我的家庭。
没有指明说话对象时,say 亦可与从句连用: She didn’t say what she intended to do. 她没说她想做什么。
- Tell usually has a person as the object and often has two objects:
tell 常带有两个宾语,其中一个通常是人: Have you told him the news yet? 你告诉他这消息了吗?
该词常与 that 从句连用: Anne told me (that) she was tired. 安妮对我说她累了。
tell 通常在某人告知事实或提供信息时使用,常与 what、where 等词连用: Can you tell me when the movie starts? 你能告诉我电影什么时候开演吗?
但: Can you give me some information about the school? 你能给我讲讲这所学校的情况吗?
发出指示时亦可用 tell: The doctor told me to stay in bed. 医生要我卧床休息。 The doctor told me (that) I had to stay in bed. 医生对我说我必须卧床休息。
或: The doctor said (that) I had to stay in bed. 医生说我必须卧床休息。
- The doctor said me to stay in bed.
Express Yourself Asking for informationAsking for information 询问信息 When you want to find something out, it sounds more polite if you can phrase your questions in an indirect way: 用间接的方式询问所需的信息听起来更礼貌: Could you tell me the best way to get to Paddington station, please? 您能告诉我去帕丁顿车站的最佳路线吗?
Do you happen to know whether Amy Brown works here? 你可知道艾米 · 布朗是否在这里工作?
I wonder whether/if you can help me. I'm trying to find out which number to call for reservations. 不知道您能否帮帮我,我想知道打哪个号码可以预订。
Extra ExamplesI tried to tell them but they wouldn't let me. 我想告诉他们,但是他们不让我说。 I was going to tell you—I just didn't get around to it. 我正打算告诉你 - 只是还没来得及。 I hate to tell you this but I've broken your phone. 我不得不告诉你,我弄坏了你的电话。 I never told him about the money. 我从来不告诉他钱的事。 No one had told her of the dangers. 没有人告诉过她会有这些危险。 She told me bluntly it was my own fault. 她不客气地跟我说那是我自己的错。 Did anyone tell you what happened? 有人告诉你发生了什么事吗? The government refused to tell them anything about its investigation. 政府拒绝告诉他们任何关于调查的情况。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- bluntly
- curtly
- flatly
- …
- want to
- be going to
- try to
- …
- about
- of
- to
- …
- tell something to somebody
- [transitive]
(of some writing, an instrument, a sign, etc. )文章、仪器、标记等 to give information about something 提供(情况);说明;显示 - tell somebody something
The advertisement told us very little about the product. 这则广告提供的产品情况很少。 - tell somebody how, where, etc…
This gauge tells you how much fuel you have left. 这油表显示还剩有多少燃料。 - tell somebody (that)…
The sound of his breathing told her (that) he was asleep. 她从他呼吸的声音中听出来他睡着了。
- tell somebody something
- [transitive]
to express something in words 讲述;说;表达 - tell something
to tell stories/jokes/lies 讲故事;说笑话;撒谎 Are you sure you're telling the truth? 你说的真是实话吗? - tell somebody how, what, etc…
I can't tell you how happy I am. 我无法向你表达我多么高兴。 - tell somebody something
We'd go fishing and she'd tell me stories. 我们去钓鱼,她给我讲故事。 All of them had an interesting story to tell. 他们都有一个有趣的故事要讲。
Extra ExamplesHe told the story to all his friends. 他把这件事告诉了所有的朋友。 She is always telling lies. 她总是撒谎。
- tell something
- [intransitive] (informal)
to let somebody know a secret 泄露(秘密);告发 - [transitive]
to order or advise somebody to do something 命令;指示;吩咐 - tell somebody/yourself to do something
He was told to sit down and wait. 有人吩咐他坐下等着。 There was a sign telling motorists to slow down. 有一个让汽车司机减速的指示牌。 I kept telling myself to keep calm. 我不断叮嘱自己要保持冷静。 I specifically told you to be here on time. 我特意告诉你要准时到这里。 - tell somebody something
Do what I tell you. 你要照我的吩咐做。 - tell somebody
Children must do as they're told. 孩子们必须听话。 - tell somebody what, when, etc…
Don't tell me what to do! 别跟我说该怎么办! - tell somebody (that)…
The doctor told me (that) I should eat less fat. 医生嘱咐我要少吃油腻。
Express Yourself Telling somebody to do somethingTelling somebody to do something 让某人做某事 Could you wait here for a moment, please? 请在这里等一会儿好吗?
Would you come through now?/You can come through now. 你现在过来可以吗?/你现在可以过来了。
Can you send it up to my room, please? 请把它送到我的房间里好吗?
Just sign here for me, please. 请在这里给我签个名。
I need you to finish the report by Friday. 我需要你在星期五之前把报告做好。
Everyone has to use the side entrance this week. 本周所有人只能从侧门进出。
You have to sign these reports before submitting them. 你提交这些报告之前必须在上面签字。
Synonyms orderorder- tell
- instruct
- direct
- command
- order to use your position of authority to tell somebody to do something:
The company was ordered to pay compensation to its former employee. 公司被勒令向以前的员工作出补偿。 ‘Come here at once!’ she ordered. “马上过来!”她命令道。
- tell to say to somebody that they must or should do something:
He was told to sit down and wait. 有人吩咐他坐下等着。 Don’t tell me what to do! 别对我指手画脚的!
- instruct (rather formal
) to tell somebody to do something, especially in a formal or official way: 尤指以正式或官方的方式指示、命令、吩咐: The letter instructed him to report to headquarters immediately. 那封信指示他立即向总部汇报。
- direct (formal
) to give an official order: 指正式发出指示、命令: The judge directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty. 法官指示陪审团作出无罪裁决。
- command to use your position of authority to tell somebody to do something:
He commanded his men to retreat. 他命令手下撤退。
order or command? Order is a more general word than command and can be used about anyone in a position of authority, such as a parent, teacher or government telling somebody to do something. Command is slightly stronger than order and is the normal word to use about an army officer giving orders, or in any context where it is normal to give orders without any discussion about them. It is less likely to be used about a parent or teacher.Patterns用 order 还是 command? - to order/tell/instruct/direct/command somebody to do something
- to order/instruct/direct/command that…
- to do something as ordered/told/instructed/directed/commanded
Which Word? say / tellsay / tell- Say never has a person as the object. You say something or say something to somebody. Say is often used when you are giving somebody’s exact words:
say 从不以人作宾语,可说 say something 或 say something to somebody。say 常与直接引语连用: ‘Sit down,’ she said. “坐下。”她说。 Anne said, ‘I’m tired.’ 安妮说:“我累了。” Anne said (that) she was tired. 安妮说她累了。 What did he say to you? 他对你说了些什么?
不能用 say about,但可说 say something about: I want to say something/a few words/a little about my family. 我想谈谈我的家庭。
没有指明说话对象时,say 亦可与从句连用: She didn’t say what she intended to do. 她没说她想做什么。
- Tell usually has a person as the object and often has two objects:
tell 常带有两个宾语,其中一个通常是人: Have you told him the news yet? 你告诉他这消息了吗?
该词常与 that 从句连用: Anne told me (that) she was tired. 安妮对我说她累了。
tell 通常在某人告知事实或提供信息时使用,常与 what、where 等词连用: Can you tell me when the movie starts? 你能告诉我电影什么时候开演吗?
但: Can you give me some information about the school? 你能给我讲讲这所学校的情况吗?
发出指示时亦可用 tell: The doctor told me to stay in bed. 医生要我卧床休息。 The doctor told me (that) I had to stay in bed. 医生对我说我必须卧床休息。
或: The doctor said (that) I had to stay in bed. 医生说我必须卧床休息。
- The doctor said me to stay in bed.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- firmly
- sternly
- tell somebody/yourself to do something
- [intransitive, transitive]
(not used in the progressive tenses )不用于进行时 to know, see or judge something correctly 知道;看出;确切地判断 I think he's happy. It's hard to tell. 我想他是幸福的。这很难说。 As far as I can tell, she's enjoying the course. 据我判断,她喜欢这门课程。 ‘That's not an original.’ ‘How can you tell?’ “那不是正本。” “你怎么知道的?” - tell (that)…
I could tell (that) he was angry from his expression. 从他的表情我看得出他生气了。 - tell how, if, etc…
The only way to tell if you like something is by trying it. 要判定是否喜欢一件东西,唯一的办法是试一试。 It's too early to tell how popular this service will be. 现在说这项服务会有多受欢迎还为时过早。 It's impossible to tell exactly where the problem is. 很难说问题到底出在哪里。
- [transitive]
(not used in the progressive tenses or in the passive )不用于进行时或被动语态 to recognize the difference between one thing or person and another 识别;分辨;区分;辨认 - tell something
It was hard to tell the difference between the two versions. 很难分辨出这两个版本有什么区别。 - tell A from B
Can you tell Tom from his twin brother? 你能分得出汤姆和他的孪生弟弟吗? Can you tell this copy from the original? 你能区分这份复印件和原件吗? - tell A and B apart
It's difficult to tell them apart. 很难把他们区分开来。 - tell which, what, etc…
The kittens look exactly alike—how can you tell which is which? 这些小猫看上去一模一样,你怎么能分辨出哪只是哪只呢? I couldn't tell who was meant to be the chairman. 我不知道谁应该当主席。
- tell something
- [intransitive] tell (on somebody)
to have an effect on somebody/something, especially a bad one 产生效果,发生影响(尤指负面影响)
give information提供信息
express in words用言语表达
secret秘密
order命令
know/judge知道;判断
distinguish辨别
have effect有影响
Word OriginOld English tellan ‘relate, count, estimate’, of Germanic origin; related to German zählen ‘reckon, count’, erzählen ‘recount, relate’, also to tale.
Idioms
all told
don’t tell me
- (informal)
used to say that you know or can guess what somebody is going to say, especially because it is typical of them Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2(用以表示知道或猜得出他人要说什么)不至于…吧,别又要说…了吧
hear tell (of something)
if (the) truth be known/told
used to tell somebody the true facts about a situation, especially when these are not known by other people (用于说出真相)说实话,说真的,老实说 If the truth be known, I was afraid to tell anyone. 如果要实话实说的话,是我不敢告诉任何人。
I tell a lie
- (British English, informal)
used to say that something you have just said is not true or correct (不想说出是谁告诉的)有人告诉我的,不告诉你我是怎么知道的 We first met in 2006, no, I tell a lie, it was 2007. 我们第一次见面是在 2006 年,不,我说错了,是 2007 年。
I tell you | I can tell you | I’m telling you
I/I’ll tell you what
- (informal)
used to introduce a suggestion Topics Suggestions and advicec2我的建议是;听我说
I told you (so)
- (informal)
used when something bad has happened, to remind somebody that you warned them about it and they did not listen to you 我提醒过你要出事;不听好人言,吃亏在眼前
kiss and tell
a way of referring to somebody talking publicly, usually for money, about a past sexual relationship with somebody famous (通常为了获利)泄露与名人的私情
know/tell somebody a thing or two (about somebody/something)
a little bird told me
- (informal)
used to say that somebody told you something but you do not want to say who it was (不想说出是谁告诉的)有人告诉我的,不告诉你我是怎么知道的
live, etc. to tell the tale
to survive a difficult or dangerous experience so that you can tell others what really happened Topics Dangerc2幸免于难之后向人讲述真实经历
tell a different story/tale
to give some information that is different from what you expect or have been told 说的情况迥然不同;讲出来的是另一回事 These drugs are widely believed to be effective medications. The data, however, tell a different story. 这些药物被广泛认为是有效的药物。然而,这些数据讲述了一个不同的故事。
tell me
tell me about it
- (informal)
used to say that you understand what somebody is talking about and have had the same experience Topics Opinion and argumentc1你算说对了;的确
tell me another!
- (informal)
used to tell somebody that you do not believe what they have said 不见得吧;我不相信;别瞎扯
tell its own tale/story
tell tales (about something/on somebody)
to tell somebody about something that another person has done wrong related noun telltale揭人短处;说长道短
tell somebody/know a thing or two (about somebody/something)
- (informal)
to tell somebody/know some useful, interesting or surprising information about somebody/something 了解/透露有用的(或有趣的、意外的)信息;有所了解/披露;见多识广 After winning several Oscars, Nick Park can tell you a thing or two about making animated films. 在获得几项奥斯卡奖后,尼克·帕克可以告诉你一两件关于制作动画电影的事情。
tell the time (British English)
(North American English tell time)
tell somebody where to get off/where they can get off
- (British English, informal)
to make it clear to somebody that you will no longer accept their bad behaviour 警告某人的行为不可容忍;不吃某人的这一套
tell somebody where to put/stick something | tell somebody what they can do with something
- (informal)
to make it clear to somebody that you are angry and are rejecting what they are offering you 别来这一套;让某人收起…的一套
there’s no telling
time (alone) will tell | only time will tell
to tell (you) the truth
you can never tell | you never can tell
- (saying)
you can never be sure, for example because things are not always what they appear to be Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc1谁也拿不准;谁也说不清;很难说
you’re telling me!
- (informal)
I completely agree with you Topics Opinion and argumentc2我完全同意;的确如此