Essayer — to try | French Verb Chart
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📚 This is the overview. « essayer » is taught level by level — pick your CEFR level below for a full lesson (explanation, pronunciation, exercises & games).
Présent (Indicatif)
- j’essaieI try
- tu essaiesyou try
- il / elle essaiehe / she tries
- nous essayonswe try
- vous essayezyou try
- ils / elles essaientthey try
Passé composé (Indicatif)
- j’ai essayéI tried
- tu as essayéyou tried
- il / elle a essayéhe / she tried
- nous avons essayéwe tried
- vous avez essayéyou tried
- ils / elles ont essayéthey tried
Imparfait (Indicatif)
- j’essayaisI was trying
- tu essayaisyou were trying
- il / elle essayaithe / she was trying
- nous essayionswe were trying
- vous essayiezyou were trying
- ils / elles essayaientthey were trying
Futur simple (Indicatif)
- j’essaieraiI will try
- tu essaierasyou will try
- il / elle essaierahe / she will try
- nous essaieronswe will try
- vous essaierezyou will try
- ils / elles essaierontthey will try
Conditionnel présent
- j’essaieraisI would try
- tu essaieraisyou would try
- il / elle essaieraithe / she would try
- nous essaierionswe would try
- vous essaieriezyou would try
- ils / elles essaieraientthey would try
Subjonctif présent
- que j’essaiethat I try
- que tu essaiesthat you try
- qu’il / elle essaiethat he / she try
- que nous essayionsthat we try
- que vous essayiezthat you try
- qu’ils / elles essaientthat they try
Impératif, Participe & Infinitif
- essayerinfinitive
- essayantpresent participle
- en essayantgerund (gérondif)
- essayépast participle
- essaie · essayons · essayezimperative
- avoirauxiliary in compound tenses
🎬 The 20-second version
Five phrases with « essayer » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use Essayer
- The -yer family: y → i when the ending is silent — j’essaie, ils essaient, BUT nous essayons.
- Essayer de + infinitive = to try to do: j’essaie de comprendre.
- In a shop: essayer = to try ON — je peux l’essayer ? (can I try it on?).
🔑 Key forms
🔊 Common expressions
🇬🇧 Essayer: the verb with a legal spelling choice
Essayer — to try — is a regular -er verb with French’s rarest luxury: an official choice. Before silent endings the y may become i or stay: j’essaie or j’essaye — both correct, both heard (the i-forms are more common in print; the y-forms sound slightly more casual). So: j’essaie/j’essaye, tu essaies, il essaie, but always nous essayons, vous essayez (sounded endings keep the y). The choice walks into the future — j’essaierai or j’essayerai — and the whole -ayer family shares it: payer (je paie/paye — the bill verb), balayer, effrayer. The -oyer/-uyer cousins get no vote: envoyer and ennuyer MUST switch to i (j’envoie, ça m’ennuie). Passé composé, no drama: j’ai essayé.
Two constructions carry the verb. Essayer de + infinitive — to try to do: « j’essaie d’apprendre le français » (the learner’s motto, conjugated); note the de, where English just chains verbs. And the shopping sense — to try ON — from our fitting-room script: « je peux l’essayer ? » (can I try it on?), une cabine d’essayage (the fitting room), un essai (a try/trial/essay — the noun that named a literary genre). The encouragement imperative « essaie ! / essayez ! » (go on, try!) and the shrug « j’aurai au moins essayé » (at least I’ll have tried) complete a verb whose whole philosophy is attempt over outcome — appropriately forgiving grammar for the trying-things verb.
FAQ
Is it « j’essaie » or « j’essaye »?
Both are correct — the -ayer verbs may keep y or switch to i before silent endings. Print favours j’essaie; speech accepts either; nous essayons never changes.
How do I say “try to…” in French?
« Essayer de » + infinitive: j’essaie de comprendre. The de is compulsory — trying chains through it.
How do I ask to try something on in a shop?
« Je peux l’essayer ? » — and the fitting room is la cabine d’essayage. Full script in our shopping vocabulary chart.
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
ils ___ (essayer) (y → i)
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essaient
nous ___ (essayer) (keep the y)
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essayons
« payer » same family : je ___ (y → i)
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paie
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🎯 More practice — conjugation drill — all six tenses
tu ___ (Essayer — passé composé)
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as essayé
il ___ (Essayer — imperfect)
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essayait
nous ___ (Essayer — future)
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essaierons
vous ___ (Essayer — conditional)
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essaieriez
Go further: get the full picture in our guide Master the present tense — the full beginner guide.
Essayer conjugation FAQ
What is the present tense of essayer?
j’essaie, tu essaies, il / elle essaie, nous essayons, vous essayez, ils / elles essaient. Full charts for every tense are above, each form with audio.
What is the past participle of essayer?
essayé — the passé composé is « j’ai essayé ». Essayer uses avoir as its auxiliary verb.
How do you say essayer in the future tense?
« j’essaierai » — the future stem never changes across persons, only the endings do.
What does essayer mean in English?
to try. It is one of the essential French verbs — drill the present first, then the passé composé; those two tenses carry most conversations.
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🎬 All seven CEFR levels, end to end
« essayer » at every CEFR level — the tense, its forms and the mechanic that makes it stick. Practise it with the free games →