What’s the past tense of “tell”?
The past tense of the present tense verb, tell (rhymes with yell), is told (rhymes with sold). The past participle form of tell is also told, which makes tell an irregular verb, since tell doesn’t end in -ed in either of its past verb conjugations. Please, allow us to tell you more about this awkward, and oh-so-irregular verb, to tell.
Forms of the verb tell
The verb to tell is defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary as “to give information to somebody by speaking or writing: Did she tell you her name?“.
| present | past | future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| simple | I tell | I told | I will tell |
| continuous | I am telling | I was telling | I will be telling |
| perfect | I have told | I had told | I will have told |
| perfect continuous | I have been telling | I had been telling | I will have been telling |
Tenses of ‘tell‘.
To tell is the present and future tense form of the action and verb, to tell. The present participle form of tell is tell–ing (present participles are formed by adding –ing). Since tell has two verb forms in total: tell and told, it is part of the cohort of verbs that are irregular, and likewise have two forms altogether:
| base verb | past tense | past participle |
| spit | spat | spat |
| sit | sat | sat |
| tell | told | told |
| win | won | won |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| lose | lost | lost |
Tell vs told
See the following past verb forms of tell:
Past tense: He told the news to everybody he saw.
Past participle: I have told them all the answers numerous times.
The distinction between participles and verbs, broadly speaking, is that participles are forms of verbs rather than tenses proper. Additionally, participles require helper or auxiliary verbs, like has, have, and had. This is what largely tells participles apart from tenses.
The verb to tell in sentence examples
| Word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| tell/tells |
Did she tell you her name? Tell me where you live. I tell my friends about my evening every day. She tells her son a story before she goes to bed. |
| told |
He told everybody he saw the news. He has told her parents about the decision. We had told our friends about the party before it started. |
Synonyms of tell
- reveal
- inform
- say
- communicate
- describe
- report
Idioms/phrases with tell
- Hear tell of something
- Does Macy’s tell Gimble’s?
- To tell chalk from cheese
- Live to tell the tale
- Tell it to the Marines!
Origin of the verb tell
Old English tellan “to reckon, calculate, number, compute; consider, think, esteem, account”, from Proto-Germanic taljan* “to mention in order”.
Practice: Forms of “Tell”
He ______ me a very funny story yesterday.
She has ______ him the good news already.
Could you please ______ me where the library is?
The storyteller always ______ the most exciting tales.
I was ______ to wait by the front door.
FAQs
What is the past tense of “tell”?
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Is “tell” a regular verb?
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What’s the past participle of “tell”?
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How is told used as a participle?
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How many forms does the verb tell have?
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Sources
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Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of tell.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/tell. Accessed 16 January, 2023.
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“Tell.” TheFreeDictionary.com. 2023. Farlex, Inc. 16 Jan. 2023 https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/tell
Yash, D. "How to Use Tell Past Tense (Irregular Verbs)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/tell-past-tense/.
