tell off
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: tell OFF. Saying “TELL off” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /l/ of “tell” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “tell off” is said “te-loff”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is tell OFF, the noun is TELLING-OFF. Same two words, different beat — “to tell OFF” is the action, “a telling-off” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
What it means
To scold someone angrily.
- “The coach told him off in front of the whole squad.”
- “I got told off for being late.”
Similar: scold, reprimand