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SPANISH VERB

tallar

to carve

  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: tallando
  • Past participle: tallado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I carve
  2. tú you carve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she carves
  4. nosotros we carve
  5. vosotros Spain you all carve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they carve

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I carved
  2. tú you carved
  3. usted, él, ella he/she carved
  4. nosotros we carved
  5. vosotros Spain you all carved
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they carved

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to carve
  2. tú you used to carve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to carve
  4. nosotros we used to carve
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to carve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to carve

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will carve
  2. tú you will carve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will carve
  4. nosotros we will carve
  5. vosotros Spain you all will carve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will carve

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would carve
  2. tú you would carve
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would carve
  4. nosotros we would carve
  5. vosotros Spain you all would carve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would carve

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I carve
  2. tú (that) you carve
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she carve
  4. nosotros (that) we carve
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all carve
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they carve

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I carved
  2. tú (if) you carved
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she carved
  4. nosotros (if) we carved
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all carved
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they carved

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú carve!
  2. usted carve! (formal)
  3. nosotros carve! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain carve! (all of you)
  5. ustedes carve! (all of you)

How to use tallar

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

  1. Present

    Mi tío talla figuras de madera para el belén.

    My uncle carves wooden figures for the nativity scene.

  2. Past

    Un artista sevillano talló esa imagen hace cuatro siglos.

    A Seville artist carved that statue four centuries ago.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi abuelo tallaba cucharas de olivo en el patio.

    My grandfather used to carve olive-wood spoons in the courtyard.

  4. Future

    El escultor tallará el paso nuevo aquí, en Sevilla.

    The sculptor will carve the new float here, in Seville.

  5. Conditional

    Yo tallaría tu nombre en ese árbol, como antes.

    I'd carve your name on that tree, like before.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Quieren que el artesano talle una Virgen nueva.

    They want the craftsman to carve a new Virgin.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Le encargaron que tallara una puerta de nogal.

    They commissioned him to carve a walnut door.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Talla despacio, que la madera no perdona!

    Carve slowly, the wood is unforgiving!

Good to know

  • "Tallar" is to carve wood or stone; "una talla" is also a clothes size: ¿qué talla usas?

Where you hear tallar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Advanced Level 2

  • En Oaxaca todavía se tallan santos de madera. In Oaxaca they still carve saints out of wood.
  • La imagen de la Borriquita fue tallada hace casi cuatrocientos años. The Little Donkey's statue was carved nearly four hundred years ago.
  • Dicen que el paso nuevo lo van a tallar aquí, en Triana. They say the new float is going to be carved here, in Triana.
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You Can't See Them

Advanced Level 2 · fue tallada

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.