Base
Please tell me your name.
Tell is followed by the person you speak to.
Past Tense of Tell: Told
Tell is an irregular verb. The past simple and the past participle are the same form: told. You can say he told me and he has told me.
Base
tell
Past
told
Past participle
told
Third person: tells · -ing form: telling
ABB: form patternExamples
Base
I always tell my mother the truth.
A habit in the present uses tell.
Past
He told me a funny story.
Told is the past form; it needs no helper.
Past
She told us to wait outside.
Told can be followed by a person and to plus a verb.
Past participle
I have told him twice.
Have told uses the same form as the past simple.
Past participle
Nobody has told me the answer.
Has told is present perfect.
Usage notes
Tell or say?
Tell needs a person right after it: tell me, tell her. Say does not: say hello, say that you are tired. So use told me, but said that.
Fixed phrases with tell
Use tell with a story, a joke, the truth, a lie and the time: Can you tell me the time? These phrases are very common in daily English.
Common mistakes
She said me the news.
She told me the news.
When a person comes right after the verb, use tell, not say.
He telled me his name.
He told me his name.
Tell is irregular, so the past is told, not telled.
He told that he was late.
He said that he was late.
Without a person after the verb, use said. With a person, use told him.
Practise this verb
0/8
Choose the right form
Choose the form that completes each English sentence.
1.She ___ me her phone number yesterday.
2.Have you ___ your parents about the party?
3.Please ___ me the time.
4.He ___ us a joke at lunch yesterday.
Write the missing form
Type the correct form of tell in each sentence.
Correct the mistake
Rewrite the English sentence with the correct verb form.
8.Choose the mistake in this sentence.
Answer key
1. She ___ me her phone number yesterday.
Answer: told
Yesterday is finished, so use the past form told.
2. Have you ___ your parents about the party?
Answer: told
After have, use the past participle told.
3. Please ___ me the time.
Answer: tell
An instruction uses the base form tell.
4. He ___ us a joke at lunch yesterday.
Answer: told
Yesterday is finished, so use the past form told.
5. Yesterday my teacher ___ us to open our books.
Answer: told
Yesterday is finished, so use told.
6. I have not ___ anyone about the party.
Answer: told
Have not plus the participle is have not told.
7. Can you ___ me where the station is?
Answer: tell
After can, use the base form tell.
8. I telled him my name.
Answer: I told him my name.
Tell is irregular: the past is told.
Frequently asked questions
What is the past tense of tell?
The past tense of tell is told: He told me a story.
What is the past participle of tell?
The past participle is also told: I have told him the news.
What is the difference between tell and say?
Tell is followed by a person: tell me. Say is not: say hello. So use told me, but said that.