they had told
-avaient dit
Past perfect they conjugation of tell.
tell
A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., acheter).
transitive verb
a. dire
Tell me what happened at the meeting.Dis-moi ce qui s'est passé à la réunion.
b. raconter
Wendy is so funny. She really knows how to tell a story.Wendy est tellement drôle. Elle sait vraiment raconter une histoire.
c. expliquer
Can you please tell the court why you decided to comply with the defendant's request?Pourriez-vous expliquer à la cour pourquoi vous avez décidé de donner suite à la demande du défendeur ?
a. dire
My mother told me to clean my room before I go out.Ma mère m’a dit de ranger ma chambre avant de sortir.
a. distinguer
I can't tell one twin from the other.Je n’arrive pas à distinguer un jumeau de l’autre.
b. voir
You can tell by the look in Sadie's eyes that she loves you.On voit dans le regard de Sadie qu'elle t'aime.
c. savoir
Even in the fog, I can tell which car is Jordan's.Même dans le brouillard, je sais quelle voiture est celle de Jordan.
a. assurer
I can tell you that everything will be fine.Je peux t'assurer que tout ira bien.
b. dire
I'm telling you I did lock the door before leaving.Je te dis que j'ai bien fermé la porte à clé avant de partir.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., éternuer.).
intransitive verb
a. se faire sentir
Age tells when running a marathon.L'âge se fait sentir quand on court un marathon.
a. savoir
I'm not sure if Lorenzo is lying. How can I tell?Je ne suis pas sûr que Lorenzo mente. Comment le savoir ?
b. dire
Is this poison ivy or something else? - I can't tell.C’est du sumac toxique ou autre chose ? - Je ne saurais dire.
A noun is a word that refers to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling, or idea (e.g., femme, chat, maison).
noun
a. l'indice
(m) means that a noun is masculine. French nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la dame or la lune) or masculine (like l'homme or le soleil).
(M)
Jason's shifty gaze was his tell when he was lying.Le regard sournois de Jason était l’indice qui montrait qu’il mentait.
Conjugations
Participles
Present:
Past:
Collins English Verb Conjugation Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2023
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