se taire Passé composé Tense Conjugation in French

The passé composé of se taire — be quiet — is the form you need for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. se taire is the verb for asking for quiet: it comes up whenever you talk about describing a lesson or talking about being quiet. This page gives you the complete passé composé table for se taire, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je me suis tu souvent cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet often this week.”

Passé composé conjugation of se taire

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for se taire. se taire is irregular (regular in the passé composé), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Passé composé — se taire

Person Form
je suis tu
tu es tu
il/elle est tu
nous sommes tu
vous êtes tu
ils/elles sont tu

The gerund of se taire is en taisant and the past participle is tu. The participle matters here because the passé composé is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the passé composé of se taire is formed

The passé composé of se taire is formed with the auxiliary être in the present plus the past participle tu. The six forms are suis tu, es tu, est tu, sommes tu, êtes tu and sont tu. The auxiliary is être for this verb — do not swap it for the other auxiliary.

Because se taire uses être as its auxiliary, the participle tu is the same in the table for every person. In real sentences the participle can agree in gender and number with the subject when the auxiliary is être, or with a preceding direct object — that agreement is a sentence-level rule, and the base form in the table stays tu.

The passé composé is the everyday spoken past tense in French. Learn these six forms as a set: once you can say suis tu without thinking, you can talk about anything you did yesterday.

When to use the passé composé of se taire

Completed actions at a specific time

Use the passé composé for an action that started and finished in the past. For example: “Je me suis tu souvent cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet often this week.”

A sequence of actions

Use the passé composé to list one finished action after another. For example: “Nous nous sommes tu pendant le film cette semaine.” — “We have been quiet during the film this week.”

Recent events and news

Use the passé composé for something that has just happened. For example: “Il se est tu tout de suite cette semaine.” — “He has been quiet right away this week.”

Life experience

Use the passé composé to talk about things you have done in your life. For example: “Je me suis tu en classe cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet in class this week.”

Passé composé vs imperfect: se taire finished, se taire in progress

The passé composé and the imperfect are the two tenses learners confuse most with se taire. The passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé; the imperfect is for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. Compare the pairs below — the passé composé form comes from this page, the imperfect form from the full conjugation table.

  • Passé composé: “Je me suis tu souvent cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet often this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Je me taisais souvent avant.” — “I used to be quiet often before.”

  • Passé composé: “Il se est tu pendant le film cette semaine.” — “He has been quiet during the film this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Il se taisait pendant le film avant.” — “He used to be quiet during the film before.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous nous sommes tu tout de suite cette semaine.” — “We have been quiet right away this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous nous taisions tout de suite avant.” — “We used to be quiet right away before.”

Example sentences: se taire in the passé composé

Six sentences using only the passé composé of se taire, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Je me suis tu souvent cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet often this week.”
  • “Tu te es tu pendant le film cette semaine.” — “You have been quiet during the film this week.”
  • “Il se est tu tout de suite cette semaine.” — “He has been quiet right away this week.”
  • “Nous nous sommes tu en classe cette semaine.” — “We have been quiet in class this week.”
  • “Vous vous êtes tu souvent cette semaine.” — “You have been quiet often this week.”
  • “Ils se sont tu pendant le film cette semaine.” — “They have been quiet during the film this week.”

Common mistakes in the passé composé of se taire

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je sommes tu souvent.”

✓ Right: “Je suis tu souvent.”

sommes tu is the nous form. With je the passé composé form is suis tu.

2. Using the present for a finished action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je tais pendant le film.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'suis tu pendant le film.”

The present tais describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé suis tu.

3. Forgetting the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Je tu tout de suite hier.”

✓ Right: “J'suis tu tout de suite hier.”

The passé composé needs its auxiliary: suis tu is être + tu. The participle alone is not a finished sentence.

4. Using the passé composé where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je suis tu en classe tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je taisais en classe tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect taisais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu suis tu souvent.”

✓ Right: “Tu es tu souvent.”

With tu the passé composé form is es tu, not suis tu. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the passé composé of se taire

Ten questions on se taire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of se taire in the Present perfect?

    • A) sommes tu
    • B) est tu
    • C) êtes tu
    • D) suis tu

  2. What is the tu form of se taire in the Present perfect?

    • A) es tu
    • B) suis tu
    • C) êtes tu
    • D) sont tu

  3. What is the il/elle form of se taire in the Present perfect?

    • A) suis tu
    • B) sommes tu
    • C) êtes tu
    • D) est tu

  4. What is the nous form of se taire in the Present perfect?

    • A) suis tu
    • B) est tu
    • C) sommes tu
    • D) êtes tu

  5. What is the vous form of se taire in the Present perfect?

    • A) es tu
    • B) êtes tu
    • C) est tu
    • D) sommes tu

  6. What is the ils/elles form of se taire in the Present perfect?

    • A) est tu
    • B) suis tu
    • C) es tu
    • D) sont tu

  7. What is the je form of se taire in the Present indicative?

    • A) taisent
    • B) tais
    • C) taisons
    • D) taisez

  8. What is the gerund of se taire?

    • A) buvant
    • B) taisant
    • C) dormant

  9. What is the past participle of se taire?

    • A) bu
    • B) tu
    • C) dormi

  10. What does se taire mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) sleep
  • C) be quiet
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. D) suis tu — The je form of se taire in the present perfect is suis tu.
  2. A) es tu — The tu form of se taire in the present perfect is es tu.
  3. D) est tu — The il/elle form of se taire in the present perfect is est tu.
  4. C) sommes tu — The nous form of se taire in the present perfect is sommes tu.
  5. B) êtes tu — The vous form of se taire in the present perfect is êtes tu.
  6. D) sont tu — The ils/elles form of se taire in the present perfect is sont tu.
  7. B) tais — The je form of se taire in the present indicative is tais.
  8. B) taisant — The gerund of se taire is en taisant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) tu — The past participle of se taire is tu; perfect tenses use être + tu.
  10. C) be quiet — se taire means “be quiet” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the passé composé of se taire?

Use it for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For se taire that covers asking for quiet, describing a lesson and talking about being quiet.

Is the passé composé of se taire regular?

se taire is irregular. In the passé composé it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of se taire?

The past participle is tu. The passé composé uses it with être for the perfect tenses.

How do I say “I be quiet” in the passé composé?

Say “Je me suis tu souvent cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet often this week.” The je form is suis tu.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se taire, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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