Do You Know These ESSENTIAL English Collocations with SAY, TELL, & ASK? Take This Quiz & Lesson!

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- Hello, this is Jack from tofluency.com,

and welcome to this lesson

where I'm going to test your knowledge on collocations

and idioms using say, ask, and tell.

Now, collocations are simply two or more words

that go together naturally,

and they just sound right to English speakers.

So for example, here is a little test

just so that you can understand what a collocation is.

Do you tell a joke, or do you say a joke?

Do you tell a joke, or do you say a joke?

I'm gonna give you the answer in three, two, one.

It's tell a joke, to tell a joke.

Again, this just sounds right to native speakers

and the bad news maybe is that there aren't any rules.

Instead, you just have to learn collocations,

but if you follow my channel

then you'll know that we are all about

learning in a natural way through repetition

and through sentences.

And in fact, if you want to know more

about how I recommend you learn English,

then click the link in the description.

So again, we're gonna have fun with this lesson.

I'm going to go through 10 of these collocations and idioms.

And what you're going to do is you're going to guess

or answer which one you think is correct.

So I'm gonna put the questions on the screen,

the options on the screen,

and then I'll give you the answer

and also give you some more examples.

Are you ready?

Oh, and stay to the end,

because I have a question for you.

Again, are you ready?

Here is number one.

Okay, number one is this, something a lie?

Is it tell, say, or ask?

The answer is, tell a lie.

And this simply means to lie to someone.

For example, he's always telling lies.

He's always telling lies.

And another example is,

he told a lie to get away with it.

He told a lie to get away with it.

Number two, something somebody out.

Something, somebody out.

The answer is, ask somebody out,

or ask someone out.

And this means to ask someone

to go on a date with you in a romantic way.

Now, I've made a lesson on key phrases

that look at the topic of romance.

So definitely watch that video after this one,

but here are some more examples of ask somebody out.

Should I ask her out?

Should I ask her out?

I asked her out,

but she said, no.

I asked her out,

but she said no, which is really sad.

Number three, something a story.

Something a story.

The answer is, tell a story, to tell a story.

Now, here's an example.

He tells a good story.

He tells a good story,

which means that this person is good at telling stories.

Their stories are captivating and interesting.

Another example is,

did I tell you the story about the time I found a wallet?

Did I tell you the story about the time I found a wallet?

And this is true, actually.

I found a wallet when I was about 10 years old

and it had a lot of money in it.

If you wanna find out what I did with that wallet

then go to the description,

'cause I'll explain that.

Number four, something sorry.

Something sorry.

The answer is to say sorry, to say sorry.

And this means to apologize, to apologize.

Here's an example that you'll hear parents say all the time,

say sorry to your sister.

Say sorry to your sister for doing that.

And here's another example,

did you say sorry for getting in late?

Did you say sorry for getting in late?

So to get in late means to arrive late.

Number five, something around.

Something around.

The answer is to ask around.

And this means to talk to various people

to find something out.

For example, I'm hosting a party tonight

and I need a canopy in case it rains,

so I'm asking around to find a canopy.

I'm talking to various people to see if they have a canopy.

So I'm asking around to find a canopy.

And another example, we asked around,

but nobody knew who the new manager is gonna be.

We asked around,

but nobody knew who the new manager is gonna be.

How are you doing so far?

I hope you're finding this good.

We have five more ago.

So let's keep going.

Number six is, something a secret.

Something a secret.

The answer is to tell a secret.

And to tell a secret is to let something become known

and in this case, a secret.

An example is, did you tell them my secret?

Did you tell them my secret?

And you can tell from my intonation,

I'm surprised and upset about this.

Did you tell them my secret?

Go on, tell me your secret.

Go on, tell me your secret.

And the opposite to tell a secret is to keep a secret.

For example, he can't keep a secret.

He can't keep a secret.

Number seven, something the time.

Something the time.

The answer is to tell the time, to tell the time.

This means to be able to look at a clock or a watch

and know what time it is.

For example, you might ask a child,

can you tell the time yet?

Can you tell the time yet?

And another example,

I couldn't tell the time until I was 15.

I couldn't tell the time until I was 15.

Number eight is an idiom.

I can't something for sure.

I can't something for sure.

The answer is, I can't say for sure.

And this means to not know something with certainty.

So when you're not certain about what you know.

For example, I can't say for sure,

but I think around 15 people are coming to the party.

I can't say for sure,

but I think around 15 people are coming to the party.

And I'm new to this,

so I can't say for sure.

I'm new to this,

so I can't say for sure.

We have two more to go.

Here is number nine.

Number nine, don't make me something it again.

Don't make me something it again.

Don't make me say it again.

Don't make me say it again.

And we use this when we're frustrated or angry

and people aren't listening.

For example, here's your homework, listen carefully,

because I won't say it again.

Here's your homework, listen carefully,

because I won't say it again.

Number 10, he's something for trouble.

He's something for trouble.

The answer is, he's asking for trouble.

He's asking for trouble.

And this is to act in a way

that is likely to incur problems or difficulties.

For example, behaving like that at school

is asking for trouble.

Behaving like that at school is asking for trouble.

And if you're watching a soccer game

and a player is being dirty and fouling a lot,

you can say that player is asking for trouble.

That player is asking for trouble.

Okay, I hope you found that useful

and that you did well in this quiz.

In fact, what I want you to do is two things.

Firstly, leave your score below in the comment section

underneath my pinned comment,

and then also tell me a joke.

So tell me a joke in English, keep it clean,

keep it so that children can read these jokes

and try your best.

So tell me a joke in English.

Leave your comments below.

If you're new here,

then please like this video and subscribe to the channel.

And then also check the description for more resources

so that you can learn English with me.

Okay, thank you for watching.

Bye bye.

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