VOA一分钟英语：除了 “告诉” tell 还有哪些意思？

一说到动词 “tell”，很多学习者们最先想到的意思可能是 “告诉、讲述”。其实，虽然 “tell” 这个词语看起来简单，但它的用法却不只这一个。
 
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.
 
用法总结
1 “Tell” 常用来表达 “告诉，对某人诉说某事”。
Let me tell you why.
 
2 “Tell” 还可以表达与 “know（知道）”、“recognise（辨别）”、“understand（理解、明白）” 或 “perceive（察觉、意识到）” 相似的含义。在表达这类意思时，“tell” 常与动词 “can” 搭配使用。用 “can tell” 表现在的情况，用 “could tell” 表过去的情况。 
I can tell he's from France. He has an accent.
We could tell it was going to rain because of the clouds.
 
3 我们可以用 “tell the difference” 来表达 “区分、分辨出不同之处”，这类表达常出现在疑问句和否定句当中。
Can you tell the difference between this cup and that cup?
I can't tell the difference between this cup and that cup!
 
4 我们可以用人称代词 “you” 加 “can tell” 的搭配来谈论一件 “按理说是显而易见的事”。
You can tell he's an English teacher. He knows all the answers.