"Explain" is to give a detailed account of why or how; "tell" is to communicate information or a story.
To make something clear or understandable by giving reasons, details, or instructions.
Can you explain how this machine works? I have never used it before.
The teacher explained the grammar rule three times until everyone understood.
She explained why she was late, but I couldn't really follow her reasoning.
To communicate information, facts, instructions, or stories to someone.
Tell me about your trip to Mexico. How was it?
He told me that the meeting was canceled.
She told her children a bedtime story every night.
Common mistake
The classic error: "explain me" is incorrect in English. "Explain" does not take an indirect object pronoun without a preposition — it is always "explain TO me" or "explain it to me". On the other hand, "tell" can go directly: "tell me" (correct), "tell her" (correct). Another error: "tell how it works" instead of "explain how it works" — when asking for understanding of a process, "explain" is the right word.
Trick to remember it
Structure is the key: TELL + person directly (tell me, tell him, tell us). EXPLAIN + preposition + person (explain to me, explain it to her) or explain + clause (explain why, explain how, explain what happened). If you want to pass along simple information: tell. If you want to give reasons, instructions, or make something understandable: explain.
Quick rule
Tell + person directly (tell me). Explain + to + person (explain to me). Tell = simple information. Explain = reasons, instructions, understanding.
Did you know?
"Explain" comes from Latin "explanare" — literally "to flatten" (ex- = out, planus = flat). The original idea was "to make something level, free of obstacles for understanding". It is the same root as "plain" (flat, clear, simple) in English. When you explain something, you are mentally "flattening" it to make it easier to understand — the metaphor is more visual than it seems.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Can you _____ me how to get to the train station from here?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She _____ me that the project had been approved by the board.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Tell + person directly (tell me). Explain + to + person (explain to me). Tell = simple information. Explain = reasons, instructions, understanding.
The classic error: "explain me" is incorrect in English. "Explain" does not take an indirect object pronoun without a preposition — it is always "explain TO me" or "explain it to me". On the other hand, "tell" can go directly: "tell me" (correct), "tell her" (correct). Another error: "tell how it works" instead of "explain how it works" — when asking for understanding of a process, "explain" is the right word.
Structure is the key: TELL + person directly (tell me, tell him, tell us). EXPLAIN + preposition + person (explain to me, explain it to her) or explain + clause (explain why, explain how, explain what happened). If you want to pass along simple information: tell. If you want to give reasons, instructions, or make something understandable: explain.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy