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Give vs. Tell — What's the Difference?

Give vs. Tell — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Give and Tell

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Give

Freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone)
He gave the papers back
The cheque given to the jeweller proved worthless
She gave him presents and clothes

Tell

Communicate information to someone in spoken or written words
We must be told the facts
‘We have nothing in common,’ she told him
He's telling the truth
I told her you were coming

Give

Cause or allow (someone or something) to have or experience (something); provide with
You gave me such a fright
This leaflet gives our opening times

Tell

Decide or determine correctly or with certainty
I couldn't tell if he believed me
You can tell they're in love

Give

Carry out or perform (a specified action)
He gave the counter a polish
I gave a bow
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Tell

(of an experience or period of time) have a noticeable, typically harmful, effect on someone
The strain of supporting the family was beginning to tell on him

Give

Yield as a product or result
Milk is sometimes added to give a richer cheese

Tell

Count (the members of a group)
The shepherd had told all his sheep

Give

Concede (something) as valid or deserved in respect of (someone)
Give him his due

Tell

(especially in poker) an unconscious action that is thought to betray an attempted deception.

Give

State or put forward (information or argument)
He did not give his name

Tell

(in the Middle East) an artificial mound formed by the accumulated remains of ancient settlements.

Give

Alter in shape under pressure rather than resist or break
That chair doesn't give

Tell

To communicate by speech or writing; express with words
She told him that the store was closed. Tell me the truth.

Give

Capacity to bend or alter in shape under pressure
Plastic pots that have enough give to accommodate the vigorous roots

Tell

To give a detailed account of; narrate
Told what happened.
Told us a story.

Give

To make a present of
We gave her flowers for her birthday.

Tell

To notify (someone) of something; inform
He told us of his dream to sail around the world.

Give

To place in the hands of; pass
Give me the scissors.

Tell

To make known; disclose or reveal
Tell a secret.
Tell fortunes.

Give

To deliver in exchange or recompense; pay
Gave five dollars for the book.

Tell

To inform (someone) positively; assure
I tell you, the plan will work.

Give

To let go for a price; sell
Gave the used car away for two thousand dollars.

Tell

To give instructions to; direct
Told the customers to wait in line.

Give

To administer
Give him some cough medicine.

Tell

To discover by observation; discern
We could tell that he was upset.

Give

To convey by a physical action
Gave me a punch in the nose.

Tell

To name or number one by one; count
Telling one's blessings.
16 windows, all told.

Give

To inflict as punishment
Was given life imprisonment for the crime.

Tell

To relate a story or give an account of an event
The sailor told of having been adrift for days.

Give

To bestow, especially officially; confer
The Bill of Rights gives us freedom of speech.

Tell

To reveal something that is not supposed to be revealed, especially something that someone has done wrong
She promised not to tell on her friend.

Give

To accord or tender to another
Give him your confidence.

Tell

To have an effect or impact
In this game every move tells.

Give

To put temporarily at the disposal of
Gave them the cottage for a week.

Tell

An unintentional or unconsciously exhibited behavior that reveals or betrays one's state of mind, as when playing poker.

Give

To entrust to another, usually for a specified reason
Gave me the keys for safekeeping.

Tell

A mound, especially in the Middle East, made up of the remains of a succession of previous settlements.

Give

To communicate, convey, or offer for conveyance
Give him my best wishes. Give us the latest news.

Tell

To count, reckon, or enumerate.
All told, there were over a dozen.
Can you tell time on a clock?
He had untold wealth.

Give

To endure the loss of; sacrifice
Gave her son to the war.
Gave her life for her country.

Tell

To narrate.
I want to tell a story;
I want to tell you a story.

Give

To devote or apply completely
Gives herself to her work.

Tell

To convey by speech; to say.
Finally, someone told him the truth.
He seems to like to tell lies.

Give

To furnish or contribute
Gave their time to help others.

Tell

(transitive) To instruct or inform.
Please tell me how to do it.

Give

To offer in good faith; pledge
Give me your word.

Tell

(transitive) To order; to direct, to say to someone.
Tell him to go away.

Give

To allot as a portion or share.

Tell

To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.
Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance?
No, there's no way to tell.
I can tell you're upset.
An expert can tell an original from a forgery.

Give

To bestow (a name, for example).

Tell

(transitive) To reveal.
Time will tell what became of him.

Give

To attribute (blame, for example) to someone; assign.

Tell

(intransitive) To be revealed.

Give

To award as due
Gave us first prize.

Tell

(intransitive) To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.
Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell.

Give

To emit or utter
Gave a groan.
Gave a muted response.

Tell

To use (beads or similar objects) as an aid to prayer.

Give

To submit for consideration, acceptance, or use
Give an opinion.
Give an excuse.

Tell

To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.
I saw you steal those sweets! I'm telling!

Give

To proffer to another
Gave the toddler my hand.

Tell

To reveal information in prose through outright expository statement -- contrasted with show
Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing.

Give

To consent to engage (oneself) in sexual intercourse with another person.

Tell

A reflexive, often habitual behavior, especially one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.

Give

To perform for an audience
Give a recital.

Tell

(archaic) That which is told; a tale or account.

Give

To present to view
Gave the sign to begin.

Tell

(internet) A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.

Give

To offer as entertainment
Give a dinner party.

Tell

(archaeology) A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.

Give

To propose as a toast.

Tell

To mention one by one, or piece by piece; to recount; to enumerate; to reckon; to number; to count; as, to tell money.
He telleth the number of the stars.
Tell the joints of the body.

Give

To be a source of; afford
His remark gave offense. Music gives her pleasure.

Tell

To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to narrate.
Of which I shall tell all the array.
And not a man appears to tell their fate.

Give

To cause to catch or be subject to (a disease or bodily condition)
The draft gave me a cold.

Tell

To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge.
Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

Give

To guide or direct, as by persuasion or behavior. Used with an infinitive phrase
You gave me to imagine you approved of my report.

Tell

To give instruction to; to make report to; to acquaint; to teach; to inform.
A secret pilgrimage,That you to-day promised to tell me of?

Give

To yield or produce
Cows give milk.

Tell

To order; to request; to command.
He told her not to be frightened.

Give

To bring forth or bear
Trees that give fruit.

Tell

To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to find out; to discover; as, I can not tell where one color ends and the other begins.

Give

To produce as a result of calculation
5 × 12 gives 60.

Tell

To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to estimate.
I ne told no dainity of her love.

Give

To manifest or show
Gives promise of brilliance.
Gave evidence of tampering.

Tell

To give an account; to make report.
That I may publish with the voice of thankgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

Give

To carry out (a physical movement)
Give a wink.
Give a start.

Tell

To take effect; to produce a marked effect; as, every shot tells; every expression tells.
Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David.

Give

To permit one to have or take
Gave us an hour to finish.

Tell

That which is told; tale; account.
I am at the end of my tell.

Give

To take an interest to the extent of
"My dear, I don't give a damn" (Margaret Mitchell).

Tell

A hill or mound.

Give

To make gifts or donations
Gives generously to charity.

Tell

A Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap)

Give

To yield to physical force
The sail gave during the storm.

Tell

Express in words;
He said that he wanted to marry her
Tell me what is bothering you
State your opinion
State your name

Give

To collapse from force or pressure
The roof gave under the weight of the snow.

Tell

Let something be known;
Tell them that you will be late

Give

To yield to change
Both sides will have to give on some issues.

Tell

Narrate or give a detailed account of;
Tell what happened
The father told a story to his child

Give

To afford access or a view; open
The doors give onto a terrace.

Tell

Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority;
I said to him to go home
She ordered him to do the shopping
The mother told the child to get dressed

Give

(Slang) To be in progress; happen
What gives?.

Tell

Discern or comprehend;
He could tell that she was unhappy

Give

Capacity or inclination to yield under pressure.

Tell

Inform positively and with certainty and confidence;
I tell you that man is a crook!

Give

The quality or condition of resilience; springiness
"Fruits that have some give ... will have more juice than hard ones" (Elizabeth Schneider).

Tell

Give evidence;
He was telling on all his former colleague

Give

(ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.

Tell

Mark as different;
We distinguish several kinds of maple

Give

To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
I gave him my coat.
I gave my coat to the beggar.
When they asked, I gave my coat.

Give

To make a present or gift of.
I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday.
She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary.
He gives of his energies to the organization.

Give

To pledge.
I gave him my word that I'd protect his children.

Give

To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class.
Please give me some more time.

Give

To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in.
It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight.
The fence gave me an electric shock.
My mother-in-law gives me nothing but grief.

Give

To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).
I want to give you a kiss.
She gave him a hug.
I'd like to give the tire a kick.
I gave the boy a push on the swing.
She gave me a wink afterwards, so I knew she was joking.

Give

To pass (something) into (someone's hand, etc.).
Give me your hand.
On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman.

Give

To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to.
My boyfriend gave me chlamydia.
He was convinced that it was his alcoholism that gave him cancer.

Give

(transitive) To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
They're giving my favorite show!

Give

(ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
I give it ten minutes before he gives up.
I give it a 95% chance of success.
I'll give their marriage six months.

Give

(intransitive) To yield or collapse under pressure or force.
One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.

Give

(intransitive) To lead (onto or into).
The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony.

Give

To provide a view of.
His window gave the park.

Give

To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.

Give

To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.

Give

To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate.

Give

To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede.
He can be bad-tempered, I'll give you that, but he's a hard worker.

Give

To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.

Give

To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
The umpire finally gave his decision: the ball was out.

Give

To grant power, permission, destiny, etc. (especially to a person); to allot; to allow.

Give

(reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).
The soldiers give themselves to plunder.
That boy is given to fits of bad temper.

Give

(obsolete) To become soft or moist.

Give

(obsolete) To shed tears; to weep.

Give

(obsolete) To have a misgiving.

Give

(slang) To be going on, to be occurring; what gives?
Your outfit is giving!

Give

The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilence.
This chair doesn't have much give.
There is no give in his dogmatic religious beliefs.

Give

To bestow without receiving a return; to confer without compensation; to impart, as a possession; to grant, as authority or permission; to yield up or allow.
For generous lords had rather give than pay.

Give

To yield possesion of; to deliver over, as property, in exchange for something; to pay; as, we give the value of what we buy.
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?

Give

To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and steel give sparks.

Give

To communicate or announce, as advice, tidings, etc.; to pronounce; to render or utter, as an opinion, a judgment, a sentence, a shout, etc.

Give

To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to license; to commission.
It is given me once again to behold my friend.
Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.

Give

To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to show; as, the number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.

Give

To devote; to apply; used reflexively, to devote or apply one's self; as, the soldiers give themselves to plunder; also in this sense used very frequently in the past participle; as, the people are given to luxury and pleasure; the youth is given to study.

Give

To set forth as a known quantity or a known relation, or as a premise from which to reason; - used principally in the passive form given.

Give

To allow or admit by way of supposition.
I give not heaven for lost.

Give

To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover.

Give

To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give offense; to give pleasure or pain.

Give

To pledge; as, to give one's word.

Give

To cause; to make; - with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc.
But there the duke was given to understandThat in a gondola were seen togetherLorenzo and his amorous Jessica.

Give

To afford a view of; as, his window gave the park.
Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our lives, is given away from ourselves.
I fear our ears have given us the bag.
One that gives out himself Prince Florizel.
Give out you are of Epidamnum.
The Babylonians had given themselves over to all manner of vice.
He has . . . given upFor certain drops of salt, your city Rome.
I'll not state themBy giving up their characters.

Give

To give a gift or gifts.

Give

To yield to force or pressure; to relax; to become less rigid; as, the earth gives under the feet.

Give

To become soft or moist.

Give

To move; to recede.
Now back he gives, then rushes on amain.

Give

To shed tears; to weep.
Whose eyes do never giveBut through lust and laughter.

Give

To have a misgiving.
My mind gives ye're reservedTo rob poor market women.

Give

To open; to lead.
This, yielding, gave into a grassy walk.
They gave back and came no farther.
The Scots battalion was enforced to give in.
This consideration may induce a translator to give in to those general phrases.
Rooms which gave upon a pillared porch.
The gloomy staircase on which the grating gave.
It would be well for all authors, if they knew when to give over, and to desist from any further pursuits after fame.

Give

The elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length

Give

Cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense;
She gave him a black eye
The draft gave me a cold

Give

Be the cause or source of;
He gave me a lot of trouble
Our meeting afforded much interesting information

Give

Transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody;
I gave her my money
Can you give me lessons?
She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care

Give

Convey or reveal information;
Give one's name

Give

Convey, as of a compliment, regards, attention, etc.; bestow;
Don't pay him any mind
Give the orders
Give him my best regards
Pay attention

Give

Organize or be responsible for;
Hold a reception
Have, throw, or make a party
Give a course

Give

Convey or communicate; of a smile, a look, a physical gesture;
Throw a glance
She gave me a dirty look

Give

Give as a present; make a gift of;
What will you give her for her birthday?

Give

Bring about;
His two singles gave the team the victory

Give

Dedicate;
Give thought to
Give priority to
Pay attention to

Give

Give or supply;
The cow brings in 5 liters of milk
This year's crop yielded 1,000 bushels of corn
The estate renders some revenue for the family

Give

Tell or deposit (information) knowledge;
Give a secret to the Russians
Leave your name and address here

Give

Bring about;
The trompe l'oeil-illusion establishes depth

Give

Leave with; give temporarily;
Can I give you my keys while I go in the pool?
Can I give you the children for the weekend?

Give

Emit or utter;
Give a gulp
Give a yelp

Give

Endure the loss of;
He gave his life for his children
I gave two sons to the war

Give

Place into the hands or custody of;
Hand me the spoon, please
Turn the files over to me, please
He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers

Give

Give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause;
She committed herself to the work of God
Give one's talents to a good cause
Consecrate your life to the church

Give

Give (as medicine);
I gave him the drug

Give

Give or convey physically;
She gave him First Aid
I gave him a punch in the nose

Give

Bestow;
Give hommage
Render thanks

Give

Bestow, especially officially;
Grant a degree
Give a divorce
This bill grants us new rights

Give

Move in order to make room for someone for something;
The park gave way to a supermarket
`Move over,' he told the crowd

Give

Give food to;
Feed the starving children in India
Don't give the child this tough meat

Give

Contribute to some cause;
I gave at the office

Give

Break down, literally or metaphorically;
The wall collapsed
The business collapsed
The dam broke
The roof collapsed
The wall gave in
The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice

Give

Estimate the duration or outcome of something;
He gave the patient three months to live
I gave him a very good chance at success

Give

Execute and deliver;
Give bond

Give

Deliver in exchange or recompense;
I'll give you three books for four CDs

Give

Afford access to;
The door opens to the patio
The French doors give onto a terrace

Give

Present to view;
He gave the sign to start

Give

Perform for an audience;
Pollini is giving another concert in New York

Give

Be flexible under stress of physical force;
This material doesn't give

Give

Propose;
He gave the first of many toasts at the birthday party

Give

Legal use: accord by verdict;
Give a decision for the plaintiff

Give

Manifest or show;
This student gives promise of real creativity
The office gave evidence of tampering

Give

Offer in good faith;
He gave her his word

Give

Submit for consideration, judgment, or use;
Give one's opinion
Give an excuse

Give

Guide or direct, as by behavior of persuasion;
You gave me to think that you agreed with me

Give

Allow to have or take;
I give you two minutes to respond

Give

Inflict as a punishment;
She gave the boy a good spanking
The judge gave me 10 years

Give

Occur;
What gives?

Give

Consent to engage in sexual intercourse with a man;
She gave herself to many men

Give

Proffer (a body part);
She gave her hand to her little sister

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