student asking question

What does "I meant to tell you" mean? and when do you use this expression?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"I meant to tell you" can be understood as meaning, "I wanted to tell you" or "I had the intention of telling you." It indicates the speaker's intention to share some news or information, but with the added suggestion that they forgot or it slipped their mind. In this video, the speaker intended to share that Ross and Rachel were invited, but the information was delayed because it slipped her mind. Ex: I meant to tell you yesterday to pick up groceries. Ex: I meant to tell you our friends are coming over today. You can also use this expression with other verbs, to indicate someone's intention and subsequent failure to do something. Ex: I meant to do the dishes yesterday, sorry about that. Ex: I meant to change the light bulb but it slipped my mind.

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