1. 告诉;告知
If you tell someone something, you give them information.
e.g. In the evening I returned to tell Phyllis our relationship was over...
晚上我回来告诉菲莉丝我们之间完了。
e.g. I called Andie to tell her how spectacular the stuff looked...
我打电话告诉安迪,那东西看上去太棒了。
2. 说(笑话);讲(故事);讲述(个人经历)
If you tell something such as a joke, a story, or your personal experiences, you communicate it to other people using speech.
e.g. His friends say he was always quick to tell a joke...
他的朋友们说,以前他讲笑话总是张嘴就来。
e.g. He told his story to The Sunday Times and produced photographs...
他把自己的经历讲述给了《星期日泰晤士报》的记者,还提供了照片。
3. 叫;命令;吩咐;建议
If you tell someone to do something, you order or advise them to do it.
e.g. A passer-by told the driver to move his car so that it was not causing an obstruction...
一个过路人叫那个司机把他的车挪一挪,免得挡道。
e.g. She told me on the telephone to come help clean the house.
她在电话里叫我过去帮忙打扫屋子。
4. 劝说,告诫,鼓舞(自己)
If you tell yourself something, you put it into words in your own mind because you need to encourage or persuade yourself about something.
e.g. 'Come on', she told herself...
“加油!”她在心里暗暗打气。
e.g. I told myself I would be satisfied with whatever I could get.
我告诉自己,不管得到什么我都会心满意足的。
Note that the verb
tell is usually followed by a direct object indicating the person who is being addressed.
He told Alison he was suffering from leukaemia... What did she tell you? 'What did she tell to you?' is wrong. With the verb
say, however, if you want to mention the person who is being addressed, you should use the preposition
to. 'What did she say you?' is wrong. '
What did she say to you?' is correct.
Tell is used to report information that is given to someone.
The manufacturer told me that the product did not contain corn. Tell can also be used with a 'to' infinitive to report an order or instruction.
My mother told me to shut up and eat my dinner. Say is the most general verb for reporting the words that someone speaks.
注意,动词tell后面往往跟一个表示听话者的直接宾语:He told Alison he was suffering from leukaemia (他告诉艾莉森他患了白血病),What did she tell you (她对你说了些什么)。句子 What did she tell to you 是错误的。不过,用动词 say 时,若要提及听话者,应该用介词 to,What did she say you 不对,What did she say to you 是对的。tell 用来转述信息:The manufacturer told me that the product did not contain corn (制造商告诉我该产品不含谷物)。tell 也可以和 to 连用,用来转述命令、指示:My mother told me to shut up and eat my dinner (我妈叫我别说话专心吃饭)。转述某人说的话时,动词 say 最为常用。
5. 判断;断定;看出
If you can tell what is happening or what is true, you are able to judge correctly what is happening or what is true.
tell什么意思
e.g. It was already impossible to tell where the bullet had entered...
已经无法判断子弹是从哪里打进来的。
e.g. I couldn't tell if he had been in a fight or had just fallen down...
我不知道他是和人家打架了,还是仅仅摔了一跤。
6. 区分;辨别;识别
If you can tell one thing from another, you are able to recognize the difference between it and other similar things.
e.g. I can't really tell the difference between their policies and ours...
我真的看不出他们的政策和我们的有什么不同。
e.g. How do you tell one from another?...
你怎么把他们区分开来?
7. 说出秘密;泄密
If you tell, you reveal or give away a secret.
e.g. Many of the children know who they are but are not telling.
许多孩子知道他们是谁,可就是不说。
8. (事实、事件)表明,说明,显示
If facts or events tell you something, they reveal certain information to you through ways other than speech.
e.g. The facts tell us that this is not true...
事实告诉我们,这不是真的。
e.g. I don't think the unemployment rate ever tells us much about the future...
我认为,从失业率上永远看不出未来的情况究竟如何。
9. (不快的或令人疲倦的经历)产生效果,产生影响
If an unpleasant or tiring experience begins to tell, it begins to have a serious effect.
e.g. The pressure began to tell as rain closed in after 20 laps...
跑完 20 圈以后,眼看就要下雨了,大家开始紧张起来。
e.g. The strains of office are beginning to tell on the prime minister.
首相开始感到公务繁忙的压力了。
10. see also: telling;kiss and tell
11. 就…所知;据…所知
You use as far as I can tell or so far as I could tell to indicate that what you are saying is based on the information you have, but that there may be things you do not know.
e.g. As far as I can tell, Jason is basically a nice guy...
据我所知,贾森算得上是个好人。
e.g. So far as anyone can tell, there's evidence that there was a Robin Hood...
众所周知,有证据表明确实有罗宾汉这么个人。
12. (用来强调所说的话)我可以肯定/我敢说/我没法形容
You can say 'I tell you', 'I can tell you', or 'I can't tell you' to add emphasis to what you are saying.
tell什么意思
e.g. I tell you this, I will not rest until that day has come...
我可以肯定地说,不到那天我不会休息。
e.g. This little letter gave us a few chuckles, I can tell you...
说真的,我们看了这封短信都笑了。
13. 谁也说不准;很难说
If you say 'You never can tell', you mean that the future is always uncertain and it is never possible to know exactly what will happen.
e.g. You never can tell what life is going to bring you.
你永远不知道人生会给你带来些什么。
14. 我早就告诉过你;我说的没错吧
If someone disagrees with you or refuses to do what you suggest and you are eventually proved to be right, you can say 'I told you so'.
e.g. Her parents did not approve of her decision and, if she failed, her mother would say, 'I told you so.'
她父母不赞同她的决定,要是她失败了,她妈妈就会说:“怎么样,我说对了吧?”
15. 我的建议是,听我说(用来引出建议或转换话题)
You use I'll tell you what or I tell you what to introduce a suggestion or a new topic of conversation.
e.g. I tell you what, I'll bring the water in a separate glass.
要不这样吧,我用另一个玻璃杯把水端过来。
16. to tell the time -> see time
time will tell -> see time
相关词组:tell againsttell aparttell offtell on