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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing telling someone something with 告诉 (gàosu)

    Actions & Events
    Connecting Ideas

    Structure

    告诉 + Person + Clause

    Explanation

    The verb 告诉 (gàosu) means "to tell" and takes both an indirect object (the person being told) and a direct object or clause (the information). A typical pattern is 告诉他公主来了 (tell him the princess has come).

    Examples

    • 他告诉我明天不用来了。

      tā gàosù wǒ míngtiān bú yòng lái le.

      He told me I don't need to come tomorrow.

    • 请你告诉她我在等她。

      qǐng nǐ gàosù tā wǒ zài děng tā.

      Please tell her I'm waiting for her.

    • 妈妈告诉孩子们要早点睡觉。

      māma gàosù háizimen yào zǎodiǎn shuìjiào.

      Mom told the children to go to bed early.

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    Expressing telling someone something with 告诉 (gàosu) | Chinese Grammar