tell
gb/tˈɛl/ us/tˈɛl/
A1
Αγγλικά
~ 200
Σημασίες
0 σημασίες
Ρήμα
A1
action
1
Say something to someone
To give information to someone by speaking or writing.
Μοτίβο χρήσης:
to tell [someone] [something]
Συχνό λάθος:
Learners sometimes confuse 'tell' with 'say'. 'Tell' is usually followed by a person: 'Tell me', not 'Tell to me'.
Συνώνυμα
inform (More formal and often used in official contexts.)
Αντώνυμα
withhold (To deliberately not give information.)
Συνδυασμοί λέξεων
tell the truth
|tell a story
|tell a joke
|tell someone something
|tell the difference
Θέματα
communication
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Παραδείγματα
- She told me the results of the test.
- Please tell him that I will be late.
- He told the class an interesting story.
- I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help.
Παραδείγματα για μαθητές
- Please tell me your name.
- Can you tell him the news?
- I will tell you about my trip.
- She told her friend a funny story.
Ρήμα
A1
action
2
Give an order or instruction
To say to someone that they should do something.
Μοτίβο χρήσης:
to tell [someone] to [do something]
Συχνό λάθος:
Learners sometimes forget to use 'to' before the verb: 'She told me go' should be 'She told me to go'.
Συνώνυμα
instruct (More formal and often used in professional or educational contexts.)
Αντώνυμα
ask (To request politely rather than command.)
Συνδυασμοί λέξεων
tell someone to stop
|tell someone to wait
|tell someone what to do
Θέματα
communication
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Παραδείγματα
- The teacher told us to open our books.
- I told him to call me when he arrived.
- She told her children to clean their rooms.
Παραδείγματα για μαθητές
- My mom told me to eat my food.
- The boss told us to work faster.
- I told him to come here.
Ρήμα
B1
action
3
Recognize or distinguish something
To know or understand something by seeing or hearing it.
Μοτίβο χρήσης:
to tell [something] from [something]
Συχνό λάθος:
Learners sometimes confuse this with 'guess', but 'tell' here means you know from evidence, not chance.
Συνώνυμα
distinguish (More formal; often used in academic contexts.)
Αντώνυμα
confuse (To mistake one thing for another.)
Συνδυασμοί λέξεων
tell the difference
|tell apart
Θέματα
perception
|thinking
|core_vocabulary
Παραδείγματα
- I can tell from your face that you're upset.
- You can never tell what will happen next.
- Can you tell the twins apart?
Παραδείγματα για μαθητές
- I can tell she is happy.
- Can you tell which is bigger?
- I can tell the two cats apart.
Ρήμα
B1
action
4
Reveal a secret about someone
To say something secret about someone, especially to an authority.
Μοτίβο χρήσης:
to tell on [someone]
Συχνό λάθος:
Learners sometimes confuse 'tell on' with simply 'tell'; 'tell on' specifically means reporting wrongdoing.
Συνώνυμα
betray (More emotional; implies disloyalty.)
Αντώνυμα
protect (To keep someone's secret or avoid exposing them.)
Συνδυασμοί λέξεων
tell on someone
|tell tales
Θέματα
communication
|social
|law
|relationships
Παραδείγματα
- He told on his classmate for cheating.
- Don't tell anyone what I said.
- She told the police everything she knew.
Παραδείγματα για μαθητές
- He told the teacher I was late.
- She told on me to my mom.
- I told the police about the man.
Γραμματική
Λημματική μορφή
tell
IPA
GB/tˈɛl/
US/tˈɛl/
Συλλαβές και τόνος
tell (1 συλλαβή)
Stress on 1st syllable (tell)
Τύποι λέξης
Verb
- Base: tell
- 3rd Person Singular: tells
- Present Participle: telling
- Past: told
- Past Participle: told
Οικογένεια λέξεων
Forms
tells
verb
telling
verb
told
verb
Core family
teller
noun B1
Related words
retell
verb B1
Negative and opposite forms
untold
adjective B2
Advanced or less common
telltale
adjective B2
foretell
verb B2
Κύρια σημεία
- Irregular past: told Verb
- Irregular past participle: told Verb
Εκφράσεις
tell a story
1/tˈɛl ə stˈɔɹi/
fixed phrase
Recount events in words
To talk about events, real or made up, in detail.
Παραδείγματα
- Grandpa loves to tell stories about his youth.
- She told a story about a dragon.
tell on (someone)
1/tˈɛl ˈɔn sˈʌmwˌʌn/
phrasal verb
informal
Report wrongdoing to authority
To say to an authority that someone did something wrong.
Παραδείγματα
- If you don't stop, I'll tell on you.
- She told on her brother for breaking the vase.
tell the difference
1/tˈɛl ðə dˈɪfɹəns/
fixed phrase
Recognize how things differ
To see how two things are not the same.
Παραδείγματα
- Can you tell the difference between these fabrics?
- I can’t tell the difference between these two shades of blue.
- It's hard to tell the difference between the twins.
- Can you tell the difference between fake and real leather?
tell the truth
1/tˈɛl ðə tɹˈuθ/
fixed phrase
Say what is true honestly
To say what is true and not lie.
Παραδείγματα
- Please tell the truth about what happened.
- He finally told the truth after many lies.
- He finally told the truth after hours of questioning.