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# tell

«tell» in Mova's judaism dictionary: **to say something to someone so they know it** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m1)

2) To tell a story or a joke is to say it out loud for others. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m2)

3) To tell can mean to know or see a difference: «I can't tell the twins apart». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m3)

4) To tell someone to do something is to order them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m4)

5) To tell the time is to read a clock. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m5)

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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m6)

7) (casual) «I'm telling you», «tell me about it» mean «I agree, it's true». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m7)

8) (rude) To tell someone off is to scold them; «tell him where to go» means be rude to him. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m8)

9) (formal) Exams say «state», «indicate», «specify», «inform» or «determine» for tell. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#m9)

### sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: On Passover Jews are commanded to tell their children the story of leaving Egypt, and the seder's book, the Haggadah, comes from a word meaning telling. In the primary 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

- And he told Laban all these things. (Torah GEN.29.13, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x1)
- And He said: 'Who told thee that thou wast naked? (Torah GEN.3.11, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x2)
- So Moses went down unto the people, and told them. (Torah EXO.19.25, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x3)
- But he told not his father. (Prophets 1SA.14.1, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x4)
- Wherefore they came back, and told him. (Prophets 2KI.9.36, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x5)
- And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. (Writings EST.4.12, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x6)
- The words «more», «in all», «altogether» and «in total» tell us to add. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x7)
- Tell how many apples are left. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x8)
- Grandpa told us a story about a bear. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x9)
- Can you tell the time on this clock? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x10)
- Always tell an adult if a stranger asks you to go with them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x11)
- I can't tell which twin is Sam. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x12)
- Mum told me off for eating 5 biscuits. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x13)
- I'm telling ya, it's 12, I counted twice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x14)
- «This bus is always late.» «Tell me about it.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x15)
- Tell anyone and you're dead, ya snitch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x16)
- State the number of items remaining. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x17)
- You can tell he's tired: he's yawning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/#x18)

### 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

- [And He said: 'Who told thee that thou wast naked?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.71/)
- [And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.239/)
- [and said: 'Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.643/)
- [And the damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to these words.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.649/)
- [And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.692/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tell» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/T/tell/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.