Verified answer

to tell someone to do something is

dire à quelqu'un [say to someone] de faire quelque chose [ to do something]

but you are right there are quite a number of verbs which take à + infinitive -

for example -

aimer à like to .........e.g. manger

apprendre à learn to ....... e.g. conduire

chercher à try to ........... e.g. apprendre le français

there are between 20 and 30 of them, and when you come across them in your dictionary, it will tell you whether or not they take à.

There are also some reflexive verbs followed by à + infinitive - e.g. s'essayer à - try one's hand at, have a go at

s'essayer à cuisiner

se mettre à - to begin to - se mettre à chanter..... or whatever

do no longer attempt to complicated to translate be conscious for be conscious. French shouldn't use precisely the comparable structures as English. they have distinctive roots after all. only get used to prepositions that some expressions take. some will take "de", some "a", another prepositions. here is yet another ordinary one with "de" which you notice on indications: "Défense de..." working example, "Défense de fumer" potential "No smoking". do no longer attempt to translate that truly. only learn the French shape.

Your first answer is correct. "They told you to wait" = "Ils t'ont dit d'attendre."