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ITALIAN VERB

tacere

to be quiet

  • #490 most used
  • Irregular -ere verb
  • Past participle: taciuto
  • Gerund: tacendo

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I am quiet
  2. tu you are quiet
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she is quiet
  4. noi we are quiet
  5. voi you all are quiet
  6. loro they are quiet

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I was quiet
  2. tu you were quiet
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she was quiet
  4. noi we were quiet
  5. voi you all were quiet
  6. loro they were quiet

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to be quiet
  2. tu you used to be quiet
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to be quiet
  4. noi we used to be quiet
  5. voi you all used to be quiet
  6. loro they used to be quiet

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will be quiet
  2. tu you will be quiet
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will be quiet
  4. noi we will be quiet
  5. voi you all will be quiet
  6. loro they will be quiet

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would be quiet
  2. tu you would be quiet
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would be quiet
  4. noi we would be quiet
  5. voi you all would be quiet
  6. loro they would be quiet

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I be quiet
  2. tu (that) you be quiet
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she be quiet
  4. noi (that) we be quiet
  5. voi (that) you all be quiet
  6. loro (that) they be quiet

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu be quiet!
  2. Lei be quiet! (formal)
  3. noi be quiet! (let’s)
  4. voi be quiet! (all of you)

How to use tacere

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Quando litigano, io taccio e aspetto.

    When they argue, I stay quiet and wait.

  2. Past

    Ha taciuto per tutta la cena.

    He kept quiet all through dinner.

  3. Imperfect

    In classe nessuno taceva mai.

    In class nobody was ever quiet.

  4. Future

    Tacerò, ma non sono d'accordo.

    I'll keep quiet, but I don't agree.

  5. Conditional

    Al posto tuo tacerei e lascerei perdere.

    In your place I'd keep quiet and let it go.

  6. Present subjunctive

    È meglio che tu taccia, per ora.

    It's better that you stay quiet, for now.

  7. Imperative

    Taci un attimo, sto cercando di sentire!

    Be quiet a moment, I'm trying to hear!

Good to know

  • Stare zitto is what people say more often; taci! is a sharp "be quiet!".

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ere verb.