student asking question

Is "the whole jungle" an object of the verb "tell"? I thought there should be object of "tell" coming after "the whole jungle".

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

You are correct on thinking that "the whole jungle" is the object of "tell". It is quite common for people to exaggerate in this way when someone is being loud. "Tell the whole jungle" is a way of saying that, by speaking so loudly, everyone around us can hear what you said. So you can think of it as him saying "Are you going to tell everyone". Ex: A: What do you mean you didn't do the homework!? B: Oh my gosh! Are you going to tell the whole school? Be quiet. Ex: I mean you basically told the whole neighborhood just now. You're being so loud.

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