qǐng gàosu wǒ qíngkuàng.

Yes—请 is commonly used to make a request polite, much like please in English.

In this sentence:

• 请 = please
• 告诉我情况 = tell me the situation / let me know the situation

So 请告诉我情况 means something like Please tell me the situation or Please let me know what’s going on.

A small difference from English: in Chinese, 请 is often placed directly before the verb phrase:

• 请坐。 = Please sit.
• 请等一下。 = Please wait a moment.
• 请告诉我。 = Please tell me.

It sounds polite, but it can still sound a little direct depending on context. People often soften it further with words like 一下.

Because 告诉 often follows this pattern:

• 告诉 + person + thing/information

So here:

• 告诉 = tell
• 我 = me
• 情况 = the situation / the details

So literally it is:

• tell + me + the situation

This is a very common Chinese pattern with verbs like 告诉. English also allows this pattern:

• Tell me the truth
• Tell me the reason

Chinese works similarly here.

Because with 告诉, the person receiving the information usually comes before the information itself.

Correct pattern:

• 告诉我情况
• 告诉他名字
• 告诉老师原因

Not natural:

• 告诉情况我

So if you want to say tell me X, Chinese usually says:

• 告诉我 + X

情况 means situation, circumstances, status, or what’s going on, depending on context.

In this sentence, it refers to the relevant facts or current state of something. For example:

• medical situation
• work situation
• what happened
• the current status of a problem

So 请告诉我情况 could be understood as:

• Please tell me the situation
• Please let me know what’s going on
• Please fill me in on the details

It is a fairly general and useful noun.

Because Chinese does not always need a preposition where English does.

In English, we often say:

• Tell me about the situation

But in Chinese, 告诉 can directly take the information as its object:

• 告诉我情况

So Chinese does not need a separate word for about here.

If you really wanted a structure closer to about, Chinese might use other patterns in some sentences, but with 告诉, the direct pattern is very normal.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable, but in everyday speech it may sound a little stiff or formal by itself.

More natural spoken versions are often:

• 请告诉我一下情况。
• 请跟我说一下情况。
• 请把情况告诉我。

Why? Because 一下 often softens the request and makes it sound more natural.

So:

• 请告诉我情况。 = correct, somewhat direct/formal
• 请告诉我一下情况。 = more natural and polite in many real situations

一下 often softens a verb and makes a request sound less blunt.

Compare:

• 请告诉我情况。 = Please tell me the situation.
• 请告诉我一下情况。 = Please tell me a bit about the situation / Please let me know the situation.

It does not always literally mean one time here. Very often it just makes the tone gentler and more conversational.

This is extremely common in Mandarin:

• 看一下 = take a quick look
• 等一下 = wait a moment
• 说一下 = say/explain briefly

In careful pronunciation, it is gào sù:

• 告 = fourth tone
• 诉 = fourth tone

However, in natural speech, the second syllable 诉 is often weakened, so learners may hear something closer to gàosu.

So:

• dictionary-style pronunciation: gàosù
• common spoken rhythm: often lighter on the second syllable

This kind of reduction is normal in everyday Mandarin.

Because this sentence is a request, not a completed action.

了 often marks a completed event or a new situation, but here the speaker is asking someone to do something:

• 请告诉我情况。 = Please tell me the situation.

There is no need for 了.

If you added 了, the meaning or tone would change, and it would no longer be the basic straightforward request.

Yes. That is also correct.

Compare:

• 请告诉我情况。
• 请把情况告诉我。

Both mean roughly Please tell me the situation.

The 把 sentence puts extra focus on 情况 as the thing being handled and delivered to the listener. It can sound a bit more deliberate or organized.

So both are good, but:

• 告诉我情况 is the basic pattern
• 把情况告诉我 is a common alternative structure

Not exactly.

• 情况 = situation, circumstances, status, what the state of something is
• 事情 = matter, affair, thing that happened, event, issue

For example:

• 告诉我情况 = Tell me the situation / status / what’s going on
• 告诉我事情 is much less natural in most cases

If you want Tell me what happened, more natural options might be:

• 告诉我发生了什么。
• 告诉我这件事的情况。

So 情况 is the better word in this sentence.

Usually that would sound incomplete or unnatural.

告诉 normally needs a target—someone who is being told:

• 告诉我 = tell me
• 告诉他 = tell him
• 告诉大家 = tell everyone

So 请告诉我情况 is natural because the listener knows who should receive the information.

Without 我, the sentence feels like it is missing an important part.