Se taire Conjugation in French
se taire means “be quiet” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for asking for quiet, for describing a lesson, and for talking about being quiet. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. It is a reflexive verb, so the pronoun comes before the verb in a sentence. This page gives you the complete conjugation of se taire — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je me tais souvent.” — “I be quiet often.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: se taire
- English: be quiet
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: en taisant
- Past participle: tu
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
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.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for se taire. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tais |
| tu | tais |
| il/elle | tait |
| nous | taisons |
| vous | taisez |
| ils/elles | taisent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tus |
| tu | tus |
| il/elle | tut |
| nous | tûmes |
| vous | tûtes |
| ils/elles | turent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | taisais |
| tu | taisais |
| il/elle | taisait |
| nous | taisions |
| vous | taisiez |
| ils/elles | taisaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tairai |
| tu | tairas |
| il/elle | taira |
| nous | tairons |
| vous | tairez |
| ils/elles | tairont |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tairais |
| tu | tairais |
| il/elle | tairait |
| nous | tairions |
| vous | tairiez |
| ils/elles | tairaient |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | taise |
| tu | taises |
| il/elle | taise |
| nous | taisions |
| vous | taisiez |
| ils/elles | taisent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | tusse |
| tu | tusses |
| il/elle | tût |
| nous | tussions |
| vous | tussiez |
| ils/elles | tussent |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis tu |
| tu | es tu |
| il/elle | est tu |
| nous | sommes tu |
| vous | êtes tu |
| ils/elles | sont tu |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais tu |
| tu | étais tu |
| il/elle | était tu |
| nous | étions tu |
| vous | étiez tu |
| ils/elles | étaient tu |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai tu |
| tu | seras tu |
| il/elle | sera tu |
| nous | serons tu |
| vous | serez tu |
| ils/elles | seront tu |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais tu |
| tu | serais tu |
| il/elle | serait tu |
| nous | serions tu |
| vous | seriez tu |
| ils/elles | seraient tu |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tais |
| nous | taisons |
| vous | taisez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | tais |
| nous | taisons |
| vous | taisez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en taisant |
| Past participle | tu |
The tables show the bare verb form as listed in the verified dump. In a sentence the reflexive pronoun comes before the verb — je me, tu te, il se, nous nous, vous vous, ils se — and in the perfect tenses it comes before the auxiliary, as in “Je me suis tu.”
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With se taire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je me tais pendant le film.” — “I be quiet during the film.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With se taire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Je me tus pendant le film hier.” — “I was quiet during the film yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Je me taisais pendant le film avant.” — “I used to be quiet during the film before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “Je me tairai pendant le film demain.” — “I will be quiet during the film tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Je me tairais pendant le film un jour.” — “I would be quiet during the film one day.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With se taire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que je me taise pendant le film” — “Although I be quiet during the film.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que je me tusse pendant le film” — “Although I be quiet during the film.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “Je me suis tu pendant le film cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet during the film this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Je me étais tu pendant le film avant la fête.” — “I had been quiet during the film before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Je me serai tu pendant le film pour demain.” — “I will have been quiet during the film by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Je me serais tu pendant le film hier.” — “I would have been quiet during the film yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With se taire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “tais-toi pendant le film !” — “Be quiet during the film!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With se taire this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne te tais pas pendant le film !” — “Don't be quiet during the film!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en taisant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle tu builds the perfect tenses with être. For example: “Je me suis tu tout de suite cette semaine.” — “I have been quiet right away this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with se taire, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je me tais souvent.” — “I be quiet often.”
- “Tu te tus pendant le film hier.” — “You was quiet during the film yesterday.”
- “Il se taisait tout de suite avant.” — “He used to be quiet right away before.”
- “Je me tairai en classe demain.” — “I will be quiet in class tomorrow.”
- “Tu te tairais souvent un jour.” — “You would be quiet often one day.”
- “Il se est tu pendant le film cette semaine.” — “He has been quiet during the film this week.”
- “Je me étais tu tout de suite avant la fête.” — “I had been quiet right away before the party.”
- “Tu te seras tu en classe pour demain.” — “You will have been quiet in class by tomorrow.”
- “Bien que il se taise souvent” — “Although he bes quiet often.”
- “tais-toi pendant le film !” — “Be quiet during the film!”
Common mistakes
1. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
✗ Wrong: “Je tais tôt.”
✓ Right: “Je me tais tôt.”
se taire is reflexive: the pronoun (me, te, se…) belongs before the verb. Without it the sentence is incomplete.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je taisons pendant le film.”
✓ Right: “Je tais pendant le film.”
taisons is the nous form. With je the present form is tais — check the person in the table before you speak.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je tais souvent.”
✓ Right: “Hier, j'suis tu souvent.”
The present tais describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé suis tu.
4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech
✗ Wrong: “Hier, je tus tout de suite.” (in casual conversation)
✓ Right: “Hier, j'suis tu tout de suite.”
The passé simple tus belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé suis tu.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Bien que je tais souvent.”
✓ Right: “Bien que je taise souvent.”
After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use taise here, not the indicative tais.
6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action
✗ Wrong: “Je taisais en classe avant.” (said of one finished moment)
✓ Right: “J'suis tu en classe avant.”
The imperfect taisais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé suis tu.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on se taire. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of se taire in the Present indicative?
- A) tait
- B) tais
- C) taisez
- D) taisons
What is the il/elle form of se taire in the Passé simple?
- A) tut
- B) turent
- C) tus
- D) tûmes
What is the nous form of se taire in the Imperfect?
- A) taisiez
- B) taisait
- C) taisaient
- D) taisions
What is the tu form of se taire in the Future?
- A) tairas
- B) tairont
- C) taira
- D) tairons
What is the je form of se taire in the Conditional?
- A) tairais
- B) tairiez
- C) tairions
- D) tairaient
What is the il/elle form of se taire in the Present subjunctive?
- A) taises
- B) taisions
- C) taise
- D) taisent
What is the je form of se taire in the Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) tusse
- B) tusses
- C) tussent
- D) tussions
What is the gerund of se taire?
- A) dormant
- B) taisant
- C) buvant
What is the past participle of se taire?
- A) bu
- B) tu
- C) dormi
What does se taire mean in English?
- A) sleep
- B) open
- C) be quiet
- D) drink
Answer key
- B) tais — The je form of se taire in the present indicative is tais.
- A) tut — The il/elle form of se taire in the passé simple is tut.
- D) taisions — The nous form of se taire in the imperfect is taisions.
- A) tairas — The tu form of se taire in the future is tairas.
- A) tairais — The je form of se taire in the conditional is tairais.
- C) taise — The il/elle form of se taire in the present subjunctive is taise.
- A) tusse — The je form of se taire in the imperfect subjunctive is tusse.
- B) taisant — The gerund of se taire is en taisant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
- B) tu — The past participle of se taire is tu; perfect tenses use être + tu.
- C) be quiet — se taire means “be quiet” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does se taire mean in English?
se taire means “be quiet”. You use it for asking for quiet, for describing a lesson, and for talking about being quiet. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is se taire regular or irregular?
se taire is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en taisant and the past participle is tu.
What are the gerund and past participle of se taire?
The gerund is en taisant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is tu — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in suis tu.
How do I say “I be quiet” in French?
Say “Je me tais souvent.” — “I be quiet often.” The je form of the present is tais, and it is the form you will use most often.
What is the difference between se taire and écouter?
se taire means “be quiet” while écouter means “listen to” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for écouter and check the meaning in context before you choose.
Related pages
- Se taire in Passé Composé Tense — French Conjugation Tables
- Se taire Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French
- Écouter conjugation
- Parler conjugation
- Se calmer conjugation
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages and tools.
- Verb Conjugator — practise se taire with the interactive tool.
- Reflexive Verb Conjugator — practise se taire with the interactive tool.
- Irregular Verb Finder — practise se taire with the interactive tool.