tell – English verb conjugation

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to tell sth from sth
Participle: told sth from sth
Gerund: telling sth from sth

Cognates

Indicative

Present

I	tell sth from sth
you	tell sth from sth
he;she;it	tells sth from sth
we	tell sth from sth
you	tell sth from sth
they	tell sth from sth

Perfect

I	have told sth from sth
you	have told sth from sth
he;she;it	has told sth from sth
we	have told sth from sth
you	have told sth from sth
they	have told sth from sth

Past

I	told sth from sth
you	told sth from sth
he;she;it	told sth from sth
we	told sth from sth
you	told sth from sth
they	told sth from sth

Pluperfect

I	had told sth from sth
you	had told sth from sth
he;she;it	had told sth from sth
we	had told sth from sth
you	had told sth from sth
they	had told sth from sth

Future

I	will tell sth from sth
you	will tell sth from sth
he;she;it	will tell sth from sth
we	will tell sth from sth
you	will tell sth from sth
they	will tell sth from sth

Future Perfect

I	will have told sth from sth
you	will have told sth from sth
he;she;it	will have told sth from sth
we	will have told sth from sth
you	will have told sth from sth
they	will have told sth from sth

Subjunctive

Present

I	tell sth from sth
you	tell sth from sth
he;she;it	tell sth from sth
we	tell sth from sth
you	tell sth from sth
they	tell sth from sth

Perfect

I	have told sth from sth
you	have told sth from sth
he;she;it	have told sth from sth
we	have told sth from sth
you	have told sth from sth
they	have told sth from sth

Imperfect

I	told sth from sth
you	told sth from sth
he;she;it	told sth from sth
we	told sth from sth
you	told sth from sth
they	told sth from sth

Pluperfect

I	had told sth from sth
you	had told sth from sth
he;she;it	had told sth from sth
we	had told sth from sth
you	had told sth from sth
they	had told sth from sth

Conditional

Present

I	would tell sth from sth
you	would tell sth from sth
he;she;it	would tell sth from sth
we	would tell sth from sth
you	would tell sth from sth
they	would tell sth from sth

Perfect

I	would have told sth from sth
you	would have told sth from sth
he;she;it	would have told sth from sth
we	would have told sth from sth
you	would have told sth from sth
they	would have told sth from sth

Imperative

you	tell sth from sth
we	Let's tell sth from sth
you	tell sth from sth

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

I	am telling sth from sth
you	are telling sth from sth
he;she;it	is telling sth from sth
we	are telling sth from sth
you	are telling sth from sth
they	are telling sth from sth

Perfect

I	have been telling sth from sth
you	have been telling sth from sth
he;she;it	has been telling sth from sth
we	have been telling sth from sth
you	have been telling sth from sth
they	have been telling sth from sth

Past

I	was telling sth from sth
you	were telling sth from sth
he;she;it	was telling sth from sth
we	were telling sth from sth
you	were telling sth from sth
they	were telling sth from sth

Pluperfect

I	had been telling sth from sth
you	had been telling sth from sth
he;she;it	had been telling sth from sth
we	had been telling sth from sth
you	had been telling sth from sth
they	had been telling sth from sth

Future

I	will be telling sth from sth
you	will be telling sth from sth
he;she;it	will be telling sth from sth
we	will be telling sth from sth
you	will be telling sth from sth
they	will be telling sth from sth

Future Perfect

I	will have been telling sth from sth
you	will have been telling sth from sth
he;she;it	will have been telling sth from sth
we	will have been telling sth from sth
you	will have been telling sth from sth
they	will have been telling sth from sth

Conditional

Present

I	would be telling sth from sth
you	would be telling sth from sth
he;she;it	would be telling sth from sth
we	would be telling sth from sth
you	would be telling sth from sth
they	would be telling sth from sth

Perfect

I	would have been telling sth from sth
you	would have been telling sth from sth
he;she;it	would have been telling sth from sth
we	would have been telling sth from sth
you	would have been telling sth from sth
they	would have been telling sth from sth

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'tell'

foretell, resell, retell, sell, tell, undersell, betell, cross-sell, forthtell, mis-sell, missell, no-sell, onsell, overtell, presell, pretell, short-sell, supersell, unsell, untell, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'tell'

bell, cell, fell, hell, jell, mell, pell, sell, teld, till,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

enumerate: count
to instruct or inform: inform
reveal: divulge, reveal, uncloak
inform someone in authority: rat out
to tell something (especially a secret) so that it may become generally known: bewray, bring to light, disclose, divulge, expose, let on, let out, let the cat out of the bag, make known, out, reveal, spill one's guts, spill the beans
to communicate knowledge or information: acquaint, apprise, enlighten, impart, inform, let know, notify
to determine the number (of objects in a group): count, enumerate, numerate, tally, tell off
narrate: recount, relate, describe, report
inform: impart, explain, communicate, acquaint, apprise, teach
announce: proclaim, publicize, ventilate, publish
speak: say, utter, express, word, mention, mouth
acknowledge: declare, disclose, reveal, divulge, betray, confess, own
urge: bid, command, order
deduce: ascertain, discern, distinguish, differentiate, compute, discriminate, reckon, calculate

Antonyms

narrate: withhold, conceal, hide, repress
announce: suppress, withhold, bury, stifle
acknowledge: deny, disavow, disclaim, renounce
urge: restrain, inhibit, repress, discourage

Additional Information

Cf. Old English sellan (sell) and tellan (tell).

Phrasal Verbs

~ against somebody, ~ against something, ~ somebody apart, ~ something apart, ~ something from something, ~ something from somebody, ~ somebody from something, ~ somebody from somebody, ~ off somebody, ~ somebody off, ~ on somebody,

Etymology

1. O.E. tellan "to reckon, calculate, consider, account," from P.Gmc. *taljanan "to mention in order" (cf. O.S. tellian, O.N. telja, O.Fris. tella "to count, tell," Du. tellen "to count, reckon," O.S. talon "to count, reckon," Dan. tale "to speak," O.H.G. zalon, Ger. zählen "to count, reckon"), from base *talo (see tale). Meaning "to narrate, relate" is from c.1000; that of "to make known by speech or writing, announce" is from c.1122. Sense of "to reveal or disclose" is from c.1400; that of "to act as an informer, to 'peach' " is recorded from 1901. Meaning "to order (someone to do something)" is from 1599. Original sense in teller and phrase to tell time. For sense evolution, cf. Fr. conter "to count," raconter "to recount;" It. contare, Sp. contar "to count, recount, narrate;" Ger. zählen "to count," erzählen "to recount, narrate."

"I tolde hyme so, & euer he seyde nay." [Thomas Hoccleve, "The Regiment of Princes," c.1412]

Telling "having effect or force" is from 1852.
2. From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talō (“number, counting”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”).
3. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tälle (“to say; tell”), West Frisian telle (“to count”), West Frisian fertelle (“to tell, narrate”), Dutch tellen (“to count”) and Dutch vertellen (“to tell”), Low German tellen (“to count”), German zählen, Faroese telja, Swedish tala (“to speak”). More at tale. See: Middle English 'tellen', Old English 'tellan', Proto-Germanic '*taljaną', Frisian, Saterlandic 'tälle', Dutch 'tellen', Dutch 'vertellen', Low Saxon 'tellen', German, old spelling 'zählen', Faroese 'telja', Swedish 'tala'.

Verbs referencing "tell"

Hawai'i Creole English tell, Low Saxon tellen, Danish tælle, Cimbrian zelan, Alemannic German verzelle.

Sample Sentences

[...] wouldn't cheat. ’ Tom comes back, sure enough; I knew he would. Some low fellows, they say, said to him—Tom, why don't you make tracks for Canada ? ’ ’ Ah, master trusted me, and I couldn’t,’—they told me about it. I am sorry to part with Tom, I must say. You ought to let him cover the whole balance of the debt; and you would, Haley, if you had any conscience. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
“ Hurrah ! bravo ! what a young ’ un ! ” said Haley; “ that chap's a case, I'll promise. Tell you what, ” said he, suddenly clapping his hand on Mr. Shelby's shoulder, “ fling in that chap, and I'll settle the business—I will. Come, now, if that ain't doing the thing up about the rightest ! ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
“ I tell you, Haley, this must not be spoken of; I say no, and I mean no, ” said Shelby, decidedly. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] gal once, in Orleans, as was entirely ruined by this sort o ’ handling. The fellow that was trading for her didn't want her baby; and she was one of your real high sort, when her blood was up. I tell you, she squeezed up her child in her arms, and talked, and went on real awful. It kinder makes my blood run cold to think of ’ t; and when they carried off the child, and locked her up, she jest [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] know why. I tried to thank him, but could n't. I could only point to my boots—or wherever I supposed my boots to be—and say in a plaintive voice, ‘Cork soles: ’ at the same time endeavouring, I am told, to sit down in the pool. Finding that I was quite insensible, and for the time a maniac, he humanely conducted me below. (American Notes for General Circulation)
“ O ! certainly, by all means, mum ! of course. But I'll tell you. I 'm in a devil of a hurry, and shall want to know, as soon as possible, what I may depend on, ” said he, rising and putting on his overcoat. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] stop, as pleasant as I could,—he just kept right on. I begged him again, and then he turned on me, and began striking me. I held his hand, and then he screamed and kicked and ran to his father, and told him that I was fighting him. He came in a rage, and said he'd teach me who was my master; and he tied me to a tree, and cut switches for young master, and told him that he might whip me till [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] and ran to his father, and told him that I was fighting him. He came in a rage, and said he'd teach me who was my master; and he tied me to a tree, and cut switches for young master, and told him that he might whip me till he was tired; — and he did do it ! If I don't make him remember it, some time ! ” and the brow of the young man grew dark, and his eyes burned with an expression that [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] notions from you; and he says he won't let me come here any more, and that I shall take a wife and settle down on his place. At first he only scolded and grumbled these things; but yesterday he told me that I should take Mina for a wife, and settle down in a cabin with her, or he would sell me down river. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
“ O, but master is so kind ! ” “ Yes, but who knows ? — he may die—and then he may be sold to nobody knows who. What pleasure is it that he is handsome, and smart, and bright ? I tell you, Eliza, that a sword will pierce through your soul for every good and pleasant thing your child is or has; it will make him worth too much for you to keep. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
- It could be... - What? Joint Jalaja from our village... Yes, I know... tell me. (Moorane Krishnappa)
Since her last birthday, she's been telling her mother (Sector 36)
He told so many jokes. He just made everybody so comfortable in any room. (Marked Men)
- Uh, what? - Nancy told me all about your bet. - Oh. - Nothing wrong with her. (The Million Dollar Bet)
Your husband must have told you where it is. Huh? Mmm. (Evil Dead Burn)

tell – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of tell

Nominal Forms

Cognates

Indicative

Present

Perfect

Past

Pluperfect

Future

Future Perfect

Subjunctive

Present

Perfect

Imperfect

Pluperfect

Conditional

Present

Perfect

Imperative

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Perfect

Past

Pluperfect

Future

Future Perfect

Conditional

Present

Perfect

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'tell'

Verbs similar to 'tell'

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

Verbs referencing "tell"

Sample Sentences