told

Q: What does "told" mean?

1. (past of tell) the past form of 'tell', used when you gave someone information or instructions.

Q: Is it correct to say "He told to me the secret."?

No — say "He told me the secret.". The verb 'tell' is followed directly by the person you are speaking to; do not use the preposition 'to'.

Definition

v. the past form of 'tell', used when you gave someone information or instructions.

v. the simple past and past participle of 'tell', used to report speech or information provided to a recipient.

simple

“She told me the truth about the meeting.”

contextual

“The pilot told the passengers to remain seated while the aircraft was taxiing to the gate.”

complex

“Having been told of the impending weather front, the captain decided to reroute the flight to ensure the safety and comfort of everyone on board.”

Takes a direct personal object without 'to'.

He told to me the secret.

He told me the secret.

The verb 'tell' is followed directly by the person you are speaking to; do not use the preposition 'to'.

From Middle English tolde, talde (first and third person singular preterite), from Old English tealde (first and third person singular preterite), from Proto-Germanic talid-, preterite stem of Proto-Germanic taljaną (“to count; tell”), equivalent to tell + -ed.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

informed notified instructed