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Q: what's the difference between "tell" and "order"? I am a bit confused.
I would appreciate it If you can show me an example. thanks
9 years 12 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - Guangzhou
if you are talking about the verb form of both words:
Tell:
reporting verb:
communicate information to someone in spoken or written words
"i told her i was coming"
"tell me what he said"
Order:
an authoritative command or instruction to do something
"he ordered them to be quiet"
'stop that' he ordered
these are just some differences between the verbal forms of these words
you can go so much deeper into different forms
Order 命令 (among half a dozen synonyms)
Tell 告诉 (among a dozen synonyms)
Not sure where's the difficulty here...
I'm guessing you mean tell somebody to do something. In that case order comes across as stricter like 命令, whereas tell is more like 让/叫. To order someone to do something, you need to have power or authority and it's suggested that it's mandatory.
命令他。。。 order
叫他。。。 tell
Cat speaks Chinese
"Order" is an ambiguous word, so you would have to provide a context for using it.
if you are talking about the verb form of both words:
Tell:
reporting verb:
communicate information to someone in spoken or written words
"i told her i was coming"
"tell me what he said"
Order:
an authoritative command or instruction to do something
"he ordered them to be quiet"
'stop that' he ordered
these are just some differences between the verbal forms of these words
you can go so much deeper into different forms
Also consider the noun form of 'order'. When you place an order (restaurant, supplier, etc), you are saying exactly what you want, how you want it, often when you want it. There is precision (and an implication of 'authority' as mentioned above - I want, you get.). So, in a sense, it is more explicit than a mere 'tell' (including, obviously, in its verbal form).
An order comes from given authority, and it ought to be hard to deny it. Whereas 'telling' comes from a presumed authority, and may have an element of denial to it. Consider the situation between parents and children. Normally, parents will tell their children to do something. Should the child disobey, then parents will up the ante and order their children (implying punishment). However, I can tell you to do something, but because I (supposedly) don't have authority over you, I can't order you to (this, however, is a fallacy 
)
Tell is when I say sorry to my wife 
order is what she requires me to say
Tell - a Mound ; typically in the Middle East and containing a series of overlying settlements.
Order- a society or fraternity of Knights, of combined military and monastic character. eg. The Knights Templar.
~ isn't English fun?
