Key facts

Tailler

To cut · to cut/to trim/to sharpen/to prune

B1Regular
Stem
taill
Past participle
taillé

Examples

Je taille le bois.

I carve the wood.

Il ne taille pas sa barbe.

He doesn't trim his beard.

Nous taillions tout.

We were trimming everything.

Nous avons taillé le buisson.

We trimmed the bush.

Présent

Indicative present — everyday actions, ongoing situations, and habits; the tense you rely on most in conversation.

Group 1
Jetaille
Icut
Tutailles
Youcut
Iltaille
Hecuts
Noustaillons
Wecut
Voustaillez
Youcut
Ilstaillent
Theycut

Futur proche

Near future with aller + infinitive — what you are about to do, very soon after the moment of speaking.

Jevais tailler
Iam going to cut
Tuvas tailler
Youare going to cut
Ilva tailler
Heis going to cut
Nousallons tailler
Weare going to cut
Vousallez tailler
Youare going to cut
Ilsvont tailler
Theyare going to cut

Passé récent

Recent past with venir de + infinitive — something that has just finished, still fresh in the speaker’s mind.

Jeviens de tailler
Ihave just cut
Tuviens de tailler
Youhave just cut
Ilvient de tailler
Hehas just cut
Nousvenons de tailler
Wehave just cut
Vousvenez de tailler
Youhave just cut
Ilsviennent de tailler
Theyhave just cut

Passé composé

Compound past with être or avoir + past participle — completed, one-off events and the backbone of spoken storytelling.

J'ai taillé
Ihave cut
Tuas taillé
Youhave cut
Ila taillé
Hehas cut
Nousavons taillé
Wehave cut
Vousavez taillé
Youhave cut
Ilsont taillé
Theyhave cut

Conditionnel présent

Conditional mood — polite requests, imagined outcomes, and what would happen under certain conditions.

Jetaillerais
Iwould cut
Tutaillerais
Youwould cut
Iltaillerait
Hewould cut
Noustaillerions
Wewould cut
Voustailleriez
Youwould cut
Ilstailleraient
Theywould cut

Futur simple

Simple future — often more formal or literary than the near future; states intentions farther ahead in time.

Jetaillerai
Iwill cut
Tutailleras
Youwill cut
Iltaillera
Hewill cut
Noustaillerons
Wewill cut
Voustaillerez
Youwill cut
Ilstailleront
Theywill cut

Imparfait

Imperfect — repeated habits in the past, background description, and actions still in progress when something else occurred.

Jetaillais
Iwas cutting
Tutaillais
Youwere cutting
Iltaillait
Hewas cutting
Noustaillions
Were cutting
Voustailliez
Youwere cutting
Ilstaillaient
Theywere cutting

Impératif présent

Present imperative — direct commands and friendly requests; only tu, nous, and vous person forms exist.

(Tu)taille
Youcut
(Nous)taillons
Wecut
(Vous)taillez
Youcut

Participe présent

Present participle — the -ant form in subordinate clauses, compound tenses, and many fixed expressions.

taillant
cutting

Gérondif présent

Gerund with en + present participle — simultaneous action, manner, or cause while something else is going on.

en taillant
cutting

Similar conjugation models (Regular)

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