tell

1. V-T If you tell someone something, you give them information. 告诉 (某人某事)

In the evening I returned to tell Phyllis I got the job. 晚上我回来告诉菲莉丝我得到了那份工作。

I called Andie to tell her how spectacular the stuff looked. 我打电话给安迪告诉她那东西看上去多么壮观。

Claire had made me promise to tell her the truth. 克莱尔已经逼我答应了告诉她真相。

2. V-T If you tell something such as a joke, a story, or your personal experiences, you communicate it to other people using speech. 讲述 (笑话、故事、个人经历等)

His friends say he was always quick to tell a joke. 他的朋友们说他以前总是张口就能讲笑话。

He told his story to The L.A. Times and produced photographs. 他向《洛杉机时报》叙述了自己的故事，并提供了一些照片。

3. V-T If you tell someone to do something, you order or advise them to do it. 命令; 建议 (某人做某事)

He said officers told him to get out of his car and lean against it. 他说警官们命令他从他的车里出来并靠在车上。

4. V-T If you tell yourself something, you put it into words in your own mind because you need to encourage or persuade yourself about something. 叮嘱 (自己)

"Come on," she told herself. “加油，”她叮嘱自己。

5. V-T If you can tell what is happening or what is true, you are able to judge correctly what is happening or what is true. 判断[no cont, oft with brd-neg]

It was already impossible to tell where the bullet had entered. 已经不可能判断子弹是从哪里射进来的。

6. V-T If you can tell one thing from another, you are able to recognize the difference between it and other similar things. 辨别[no cont, oft with brd-neg]

I can't really tell the difference between their policies and ours. 我真地看不出他们的政策和我们的政策有什么区别。

How do you tell one from another?

你怎么把它们区分开来？

7. V-I If you tell, you reveal or give away a secret. 泄密[非正式]

Many of the children know who they are but are not telling. 许多孩子知道他们是谁，但不愿泄露秘密。

8. V-T If facts or events tell you something, they reveal certain information to you through ways other than speech. (事实、事件) 告诉 (某人某事)

The facts tell us that this is not true. 事实告诉我们这不是真的。

I don't think the unemployment rate ever tells us much about the future. 我认为失业率不会告诉我们很多关于未来的东西。

9. V-I If an unpleasant or tiring experience begins to tell, it begins to have a serious effect. (让人不愉快或疲倦的经历) 产生严重影响

It wasn't long before the strain began to tell on our relationship. 很快，这种极度的紧张就开始对我们的关系产生严重影响。

10. →see also telling

11. PHRASE 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. 就某人判断[含糊]

As far as I can tell, Jason is basically a nice guy. 就我判断，杰森基本上是个好人。

12. CONVENTION You can say "I tell you," "I can tell you," or "I can't tell you" to add emphasis to what you are saying. 我告诉你/我可以告诉你/我没法告诉你 (用以强调)[非正式]

I tell you this, I will not rest until that day has come. 我告诉你，不到那天我不会休息。

13. CONVENTION 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." 我早跟你说过[非正式]

Her parents did not approve of her decision and, if she failed, her mother would say, "I told you so."

她的父母没有同意她的决定，如果她失败了，她的母亲就会说，“我早跟你说过。”

14. CONVENTION You use I'll tell you what or I tell you what to introduce a suggestion or a new topic of conversation. 你听我说 (用以引入建议或新话题)[口语]

I tell you what, I'll bring the beer over to your house. 你听我的，由我带啤酒到你家来。

15. to tell the time→see time

16. time will tell→see time