內容簡介

一說到動詞 “tell”，很多學習者們最先想到的意思可能是 “告訴、講述”。其實，雖然 “tell” 這個詞語看起來簡單，但它的用法卻不只這一個。 “一分鐘英語” 視頻講一講你可能不知道的有關 “tell” 的意思和用法。

文字稿

Hi, everyone! Think of tell and you think of 'speaking', but tell doesn't always mean tell. Let me tell you why.

… OK, that time I meant 'speaking'.

Not only does the verb tell mean 'say something to someone', it also has a meaning similar to: 'know', 'recognise', 'understand' or 'perceive'.

We often use it in combination with the verb 'can' to make can tell for the present and could tell for the past.

I can tell he's from France. He has an accent.

Or: We could tell it was going to rain because of the clouds.

We often use it to talk about differences – then we might use the negative or the question.

Can you tell the difference between this cup and that cup?

I can't tell the difference between this cup and that cup!

We also often use can tell with the pronoun 'you' to talk about something that many people should find obvious.

You can tell he's an English teacher. He knows all the answers.

用法總結

1. “Tell” 常用來表達 “告訴，對某人訴說某事”。

• Let me tell you why.

2. “Tell” 還可以表達與 “know（知道）”、“recognise（辨別）”、“understand（理解、明白）” 或 “perceive（察覺、意識到）” 相似的含義。在表達這類意思時，“tell” 常與動詞 “can” 搭配使用。用 “can tell” 表現在的情況，用 “could tell” 表過去的情況。 

• I can tell he's from France. He has an accent.
• We could tell it was going to rain because of the clouds.

3. 我們可以用 “tell the difference” 來表達 “區分、分辨出不同之處”，這類表達常出現在疑問句和否定句當中。

• Can you tell the difference between this cup and that cup?
• I can't tell the difference between this cup and that cup!

4. 我們可以用人稱代詞 “you” 加 “can tell” 的搭配來談論一件 “按理說是顯而易見的事”。

• You can tell he's an English teacher. He knows all the answers.