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Zuotengdazuo Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

What does "tell with someone" mean?


Here is the context.
Alma: I have a cousin that lives like a hobo, actually.
Jill: Really?
Alma: It's a bit complicated though.
Alma: Problem is, his family has tried to get him to live with them, but his pride won't let him accept their help.
Alma: He'd rather live on the streets for some reason.
Jill: You can't tell with some people, sadly.
Jill: Why did he become a hobo in the first place?
Alma:Bad investments and debts. Bank evicted him from his house.
I have gone through many dictionaries but can't find this phrase. Could you tell me what it means? Thank you so much.
  

Top answer

You can't tell with some people. You can't understand how some people think or why they do what they do. com/dictionary/tell

— Clive

  • You can't tell with some people.
  • You can't understand how some people think or why they do what they do.
  • com/dictionary/tell
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10 Answers
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You can't tell with some people.

You can't understand how some people think or why they do what they do.

6 : to find out by observing : http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recognize <you can tell it's a masterpiece>
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Thank you very much. I know "tell" has that meaning but I just can't apply it to the given sentence because it seems to me that "tell with" is a set phrase and it is used in a quite different way.
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zuotengdazuo Thank you very much. I know "tell" has that meaning but I just can't apply it to the given sentence because it seems to me that "tell with" is a set phrase and it is used in a quite different way.
"tell with" is not really a phrase. The phrasing is more "You can't tell / with some people". "with some people" gives information about what "You can't
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Thank you for your further explanation. But why use "with someone" rather than "about someone"? What does the "with" mean here?
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zuotengdazuoWhat does the "with" mean here?
in the case of

— Will he ask her to marry him?
— You never know with him.

CJ
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zuotengdazuo Thank you for your further explanation. But why use "with someone" rather than "about someone"? What does the "with" mean here?
In this case "with some people" means about the same as "where some people are concerned" or "when it comes to some people".
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Thank you, Mr Jim. I see. But can we replace "with" with "about" here"
Like "you never know about him" or "you can't tell about some people"?
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Thank you, sir. I get it. But can I use "about" instead of "with" in this case?
Like "can tell about some people"?
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zuotengdazuoThank you, Mr Jim. I see. But can we replace "with" with "about" here"Like "you never know about him" or "you can't tell about some people"?
You can say those in a way that suggests the same meaning, but why do that? It only makes people guess at what you really mean, and they won't have a good impression of how well you speak English.

CJ
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