tell me vs. told me

[Bella]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #265 "Irregular Verbs Test (13)", question 10

Bailey ......... me a secret. I won't tell anyone about it because it's quite serious.

(a) tell
(b) told
(c) telling

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #265 "Irregular Verbs Test (13)", answer 10

Bailey told me a secret. I won't tell anyone about it because it's quite serious.

Correct answer: (b) told
_________________________

Bailey tell me a secret

Bella

[lost_soul]

Bailey tell me a secret - I believe this does not make much sense in this context, besides, the verb is wrongly conjugated (should have 's' at the end).
_________________
Alex

A native speaker of Russian

[Yankee]

Hi Alex and Bella

You could say this (an imperative sentence):

"Bailey, tell me a secret."

However, that would not make sense in combination with the sentence that follows it. If Bailey has not told you any secret yet, it's impossible to state that "it" (a specific secret) is quite serious.
.
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English