essayer conditional conjugation

Conjugation verb essayer in French

Model : marcher / balayer

Auxiliary : avoir

Other forms: s'essayer / ne pas essayer / ne pas s'essayer

The regular verbs of the 1st group follow this conjugation model (verbs ending in -er). Verbs ending in -ayer follow at the same time this model (il balaye) and the model of balayer (il balaie)

The verb has several variants of conjugation, which may correspond to different meanings. Please use the menu to select one or all variants.

• il/elle essaye
• nous essayons
• vous essayez
• ils/elles essayent
• il/elle essaie
• ils/elles essaient
• j' essayais
• tu essayais
• il/elle essayait
• nous essayions
• vous essayiez
• ils/elles essayaient
• j' essayerai
• tu essayeras
• il/elle essayera
• nous essayerons
• vous essayerez
• ils/elles essayeront
• j' essaierai
• tu essaieras
• il/elle essaiera
• nous essaierons
• vous essaierez
• ils/elles essaieront

Passé simple

• il/elle essaya
• nous essayâmes
• vous essayâtes
• ils/elles essayèrent

Passé composé

• j' ai essayé
• tu as essayé
• il/elle a essayé
• nous avons essayé
• vous avez essayé
• ils/elles ont essayé

Plus-que-parfait

• j' avais essayé
• tu avais essayé
• il/elle avait essayé
• nous avions essayé
• vous aviez essayé
• ils/elles avaient essayé

Passé antérieur

• j' eus essayé
• tu eus essayé
• il/elle eut essayé
• nous eûmes essayé
• vous eûtes essayé
• ils/elles eurent essayé

Futur antérieur

• j' aurai essayé
• tu auras essayé
• il/elle aura essayé
• nous aurons essayé
• vous aurez essayé
• ils/elles auront essayé
• que j' essaye
• que tu essayes
• qu' il/elle essaye
• que nous essayions
• que vous essayiez
• qu' ils/elles essayent
• que j' essaie
• que tu essaies
• qu' il/elle essaie
• qu' ils/elles essaient
• que j' essayasse
• que tu essayasses
• qu' il/elle essayât
• que nous essayassions
• que vous essayassiez
• qu' ils/elles essayassent
• que j' eusse essayé
• que tu eusses essayé
• qu' il/elle eût essayé
• que nous eussions essayé
• que vous eussiez essayé
• qu' ils/elles eussent essayé
• que j' aie essayé
• que tu aies essayé
• qu' il/elle ait essayé
• que nous ayons essayé
• que vous ayez essayé
• qu' ils/elles aient essayé

Conditionnel

• j' essayerais
• tu essayerais
• il/elle essayerait
• nous essayerions
• vous essayeriez
• ils/elles essayeraient
• j' essaierais
• tu essaierais
• il/elle essaierait
• nous essaierions
• vous essaieriez
• ils/elles essaieraient

Passé première forme

• j' aurais essayé
• tu aurais essayé
• il/elle aurait essayé
• nous aurions essayé
• vous auriez essayé
• ils/elles auraient essayé

Passé deuxième forme

• j' eusse essayé
• tu eusses essayé
• il/elle eût essayé
• nous eussions essayé
• vous eussiez essayé
• ils/elles eussent essayé
• ayant essayé
• masc.sg.: essayé
• masc.pl.: essayés
• fém.sg.: essayée
• fém.pl.: essayées
• ayons essayé
• ayez essayé
• avoir essayé

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French Verb Conjugation Using "Essayer" (to Try)

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The French verb  essayer  means "to try." It's a simple word that can easily be confused with  essuyer  (to wipe) , so be sure to look and listen for that 'A' in  essayer .

In order to place  essayer  into the past, present, or future tense, the verb needs to be conjugated . Just follow along in this lesson and you'll be saying "tried" and "trying" in French before you know it.

Conjugating the French Verb  Essayer ​​

Essayer  is an optional stem-changing verb . Typically with verbs that end in - yer , the 'Y' has to change to an 'I' in certain forms. The rules are a little more casual with  essayer  as you'll see in the table. When there are two forms of the conjugation, you can use either.

The stem of  essayer  is  essay -. To this, a variety of infinitive endings is added that conform with the subject pronoun as well as the tense of the sentence. For instance, "I try" is " j'essaie " or " j'essaye ." Similarly, there are two options for "we will try": " nous essaierons " or " nous essayerons ."

All this leaves you with many words to memorize. The good news is that there are many opportunities to practice it and use  essayer  as you "try" things throughout your day.

The Present Participle of  Essayer

The  present participle  of essayer is  essayant . This is as simple as adding - ant  to the verb stem. Not only does it work as a verb, but it can also become an adjective, gerund, or noun when needed.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The  past participle   essayé  is used to form the  passé composé , a common past tense form of "tried" in French. To use this, you'll also need to conjugate the  auxiliary verb   avoir . For example, "I tried" is " j'ai essayé " and "we tried" is " nous avons essayé ."

More Simple  Essayer  Conjugations to Know

When the action of trying is in some way questionable, you can turn to the subjunctive verb mood . Similarly, if it's dependent on something, the conditional verb mood is used.

With less frequency, you will come across the passé simple or the imperfect subjunctive . These are mostly found in formal writing and will help considerably with reading comprehension.

To use  essayer  in commands or direct requests, turn to the imperative verb form . When using this, the subject pronoun is not required: use " essaie " instead of " tu essaie ."

• How to Conjugate "Essuyer" (to Wipe)
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• Essayer conjugation table
• Essayer conjugation rules
• Essayer synonyms

Essayer french definition

Essayer conjugation in all forms, essayer conjugation in all tenses.

• Essayer : verbs with similar conjugation
• Essayer conjugation in indicative
• Essayer conjugation in present indicative
• Essayer conjugation in present perfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in imperfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in pluperfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in simple past indicative
• Essayer conjugation in past perfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in simple future indicative
• Essayer conjugation in future perfect indicative
• Essayer conjugation in subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in present subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in past subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in imperfect subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in pluperfect subjunctive
• Essayer conjugation in conditional
• Essayer conjugation in present conditional
• Essayer conjugation in past conditional
• Essayer conjugation in imperative
• Essayer conjugation in present imperative
• Essayer conjugation in past imperative
• Infinitive of french verb Essayer
• Present infinitive of french verb Essayer
• Past infinitive of french verb Essayer
• Participle of french verb essayer
• Present participle of french verb essayer
• Past participle of french verb essayer
• Gerundive of french verb essayer
• Present gerundive of french verb essayer
• Past gerundive of french verb essayer

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• French Conjugation
• Essayer conjugation

Conjugation of french verb essayer

Present perfect, simple past, past perfect, simple future, future perfect, subjunctive, conditional, essayer french verb, conjugation rules, reflexive form:, negative form:, interrogative form:.

• Essayer french verb conjugation rules

Essayer french synonyms

• Essayer similar verbs conjugation

This is the list of essayer french verb synonyms :

Active voice conjugation

Passive voice conjugation, reflexive form conjugation, similar verbs conjugation.

Here is the full list of verbs sharing the same verb conjugation :

List of verbs used as patterns in french conjugation:

Most common first group verbs

Most common second group verbs, most common third group verbs.

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Mastering the conjugation of "essayer," a pivotal verb in French, facilitates a deeper understanding of the language's complexities. It shifts remarkably across tenses, from 'j'essaie' in the present to 'j'essaierai' in the future, highlighting the verb's versatility. This essential guide ensures you deftly navigate through its various forms, enriching your French linguistic prowess.

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Understanding Essayer Conjugation in French

Conjugating the French verb essayer translates to attempting or trying in English. It's an essential verb that you’ll often encounter. Getting familiar with its conjugation can significantly enhance your French learning journey.

The basics of Essayer Verb Conjugation

Essayer is a regular -er verb but with a slight twist. When conjugated, the 'y' changes to an 'i' in the singular and the third person plural forms, although this change doesn’t apply to all tenses. This variation is a key aspect to remember about essayer conjugation.

Remember, the spelling change from 'y' to 'i' before a silent 'e' helps with the pronunciation.

How to Conjugate Essayer in the Present Tense

Conjugating essayer in the present tense involves a straightforward pattern similar to that of other regular -er verbs, with the noted exception of the 'y' to 'i' change in certain forms. Here’s how you conjugate essayer in the present tense:

Note that both 'j'essaie' and 'j'essaye' are acceptable forms of the first person singular in the present tense, reflecting the spelling variation mentioned earlier.

Mastering Essayer Conjugation: The Past Tense

To form the past tense, also known as the passé composé , of essayer , you need the helping verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé'. The structure is similar to many other French verbs. The conjugation in the passé composé depends on the subject pronoun:

The past participle essayé maintains its spelling across all subject pronouns in the passé composé, which simplifies its usage. The auxiliary verb 'avoir' is conjugated according to the subject, making understanding of 'avoir' conjugation equally essential in mastering essayer in the past tense.

Deep Dive into Essayer Conjugation French

Conjugation forms an integral part of mastering French, bringing verbs to life in different contexts and tenses. A detailed look at essayer conjugation across various moods and tenses can broaden your understanding and usage of this versatile verb.

Essayer Conjugation Present: A Closer Look

The present tense of essayer offers the first glimpse into its usage, showing how the verb adapts in current scenarios. The unique 'y' to 'i' switch in certain forms makes it slightly different from other regular -er verbs.Here is the conjugation of essayer in the present tense for quick reference:

The forms 'j'essaie' and 'j'essaye' are both correct, demonstrating a flexible aspect of French spelling and pronunciation norms.

Navigating Essayer Imparfait Conjugation

The imparfait , or imperfect tense, conveys ongoing actions or states of being in the past. It illuminates what was happening at a certain point without focusing on the beginning or end of the action. Conjugating essayer in the imparfait involves a standard set of endings added to the stem: Stem: essay-Here’s a quick guide to its conjugation:

The Subjunctive and Conditional Moods in Essayer Conjugation

The subjunctive and conditional moods of essayer explore possibilities, hypotheses, and situations dependent on conditions.For the subjunctive mood, expressing doubt, wish, or uncertainty, here are the forms:

The conditional mood deals with potential scenarios or actions that would happen under certain conditions. Here’s how to conjugate essayer in the conditional mood:

Understanding these moods requires recognizing the nuances in tone and meaning they bring to conversations or written text. The subjunctive often appears after expressions that start with 'il faut que' (it is necessary that), 'bien que' (although), or 'pour que' (so that), reflecting its use in expressing desires or hypothetical situations. Meanwhile, the conditional mood is frequently used in polite requests or in sentences that begin with 'si' (if), laying down a condition for the action to occur.

Practising Conjugate Essayer Across Tenses

Understanding how to conjugate the French verb essayer across different tenses is integral to mastering its use. This versatility allows you to express actions in the present, past, future, and conditional states, making your French more fluent and nuanced.

The Future and Perfect Tenses of Essayer Verb Conjugation

Conjugating essayer in the future and perfect tenses allows for expressing actions that will occur or have been completed. The future tense speaks about events that will happen, while the perfect tense, using the passé composé, talks about actions that were completed in the past.

The future tense of essayer closely follows the regular -er verb conjugation pattern but with its unique twist in spelling.

For the perfect tense, combining the auxiliary verb avoir with the past participle essayé forms a compound tense that expresses actions completed in the past.

Regular vs Irregular Patterns in Essayer Conjugation French

The verb essayer presents an interesting case of blending regular -er verb conjugation patterns with its own unique irregularities. Understanding these patterns is crucial to effectively using essayer in various contexts.

A regular verb follows a predictable pattern of conjugations across different tenses and moods. In contrast, an irregular verb does not follow these standard conjugation patterns, making memorization necessary.

With its unique 'y' to 'i' shift in certain forms and uses, essayer stands between the realms of regular and irregular verbs. In the present tense, for example, both 'j'essaie' and 'j'essaye' are acceptable, showcasing this flexibility. This mix of predictability and irregularity is what makes studying French both a challenge and a joy. Understanding when each form is appropriate comes with practice and exposure to the language in various scenarios.

The choice between using the 'y' or changing it to 'i' in essayer conjugation often depends on pronunciation ease rather than a hard rule, especially in informal settings.

In summary, mastering the conjugation of essayer requires understanding its regular patterns and the exceptions. Whether you’re expressing what you're trying or what you will try in the future, or what you have tried in the past, essayer is a verb that can add depth to your French repertoire.

Common Mistakes and Tips for Conjugation Essayer

Conjugating essayer , meaning 'to try' in French, can sometimes be tricky for learners. While it follows the general pattern of regular -er verbs, certain nuances can lead to common mistakes. Understanding these can significantly improve your grasp of French verb conjugation.

Avoiding Common Errors with Essayer Conjugation

Conjugating essayer presents unique challenges that often lead to mistakes. Recognizing these can help you avoid them in the future.Here are some frequently encountered pitfalls:

• Mixing up the 'y' to 'i' change: In certain forms, especially in the singular and the third person plural forms of some tenses, 'essayer' changes the 'y' to an 'i'. Not applying this change where necessary is a common error.
• Forgetting the double 's' in the nous form: In the present tense, 'nous essayons' retains the double 's', rather than changing to a single 's', which can be misleading.
• Incorrect auxiliary verb in compound tenses: Using the wrong auxiliary verb (être instead of avoir) for the passé composé and other compound tenses is another typical mistake.

Always double-check the spelling when conjugating essayer , especially for the 'y' to 'i' shift and the use of double 's' in the nous form.

Handy Tips to Remember Conjugation Essayer

To successfully memorise and apply the conjugation of essayer , consider implementing these strategies:Here are beneficial tips to enhance your learning process:

• Create mnemonic devices: Developing unique memory aids can help you recall the specific spelling changes of essayer .
• Practise with sentences: Use essayer in various sentences to get comfortable with its conjugation across different tenses.
• Listen and repeat: Engage with multimedia resources in French to hear the conjugation of essayer in action. Repeating what you hear reinforces learning.

Understanding that the 'y' to 'i' change in essayer conjugation is to facilitate pronunciation can help remember when to apply it. This change occurs before a silent 'e', a common practice in French to make pronunciation smoother. Making such connections between language rules and their practical applications can significantly enhance your language learning.

Essayer Conjugation - Key takeaways

• Essayer Conjugation French: Essayer means 'to try', and its conjugation is essential for proficiency in French.
• Essayer Verb Conjugation Twist: While essayer follows the regular -er verb pattern, it features a 'y' to 'i' change in singular and third person plural forms for certain tenses.
• Conjugation Essayer in the Present: Forms include 'j'essaie/essaye', 'tu essaies', 'il/elle/on essaie', 'nous essayons', 'vous essayez' and 'ils/elles essaient/essayent'.
• Essayer Past Tense and Perfect Tense: Utilizes the auxiliary verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', yielding forms like 'j'ai essayé', demonstrating consistency across subject pronouns.
• Essayer Imperfect Conjugation (Imparfait): Reflects ongoing or habitual past actions, for example, 'j'essayais', 'tu essayais', indicating actions or states of being continuing in the past.

Frequently Asked Questions about Essayer Conjugation

--> what is the present tense conjugation of 'essayer' in french, --> what is the passé composé conjugation of 'essayer' in french, --> what is the future tense conjugation of 'essayer' in french, --> how is 'essayer' conjugated in the subjunctive mood in french, --> what is the imperative form of 'essayer' in french, test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards.

What determines the conjugation of 'apprendre' in French?

Which group does the verb 'apprendre' belong to in French?

In the past tense 'passé composé', how is 'apprendre' conjugated for 'je'?

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What determines the conjugation of 'apprendre' in French?

The conjugation of 'apprendre' varies depending on the tense and the subject pronoun.

Which group does the verb 'apprendre' belong to in French?

'Apprendre' is part of the first group of verbs, making it very regular in pattern.

In the past tense 'passé composé', how is 'apprendre' conjugated for 'je'?

'Je apprendre' is how it's conjugated; the passé composé isn't used with 'apprendre'.

What is the correct present tense conjugation of 'apprendre' for the pronoun 'nous'?

Nous apprennez

Which common mistake often occurs when conjugating 'apprendre' in the present tense?

Mixing up the conjugation with -er ending verbs

How does the conjugation of 'apprendre' change from singular to plural forms in the present tense?

By changing 'apprend' to 'appront' for plural forms

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'essayer' conjugation table in French

Past participle, present perfect, conditional, past historic, future perfect, past anterior, conditional perfect, subjunctive.

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• Essayer Conjugation

Essayer to try, to attempt

Essayer - indicative, essayer - perfect, essayer - subjunctive, essayer - conditional, essayer - imperative (commands).

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Formes composées / compound tenses, conditionnel.

*Blue letters in conjugations are irregular forms. ( example ) *Red letters in conjugations are exceptions to the model. ( example ) *Grayed conjugations are forms that are extremely rare.

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Conjugation of the French verb essayer

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Verb Table for essayer

All conjugation types.

• Conjugation with avoir (Currently shown)
• Reflexive (conjugation with être)

Indicatif  •  Subjonctif  •  Conditionnel  •  Impératif  •  Formes impersonnelles

Passé simple, futur simple, passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé antérieur, futur antérieur, participe présent, participe passé, browse the conjugations (verb tables).

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French: essayer

French verb 'essayer' conjugated.

essayer : Conjugation

The essayer conjugation tables below show how to form the French verb essayer according to tense and person. To listen to the pronunciation of a given tense of essayer , click on the loudspeaker icon at the bottom of the table. See the notes on the conjugation of essayer at the end of this page.

Verb conjugation Essayer

• j'essa ie /j'essa ye
• tu essa ies /tu essa yes
• il essa ie /elle essa ie /il essa ye /elle essa ye
• nous essa yons
• vous essa yez
• ils essa ient /elles essa ient /ils essa yent /elles essa yent

Passé composé

• j'ai essa yé
• tu as essa yé
• il a essa yé /elle a essa yé
• nous avons essa yé
• vous avez essa yé
• ils ont essa yé /elles ont essa yé
• j'essa yais
• tu essa yais
• il essa yait /elle essa yait
• nous essa yions
• vous essa yiez
• ils essa yaient /elles essa yaient

Plus-que-parfait

• j'avais essa yé
• tu avais essa yé
• il avait essa yé /elle avait essa yé
• nous avions essa yé
• vous aviez essa yé
• ils avaient essa yé /elles avaient essa yé

Passé simple

• tu essa yas
• il essa ya /elle essa ya
• nous essa yâmes
• vous essa yâtes
• ils essa yèrent /elles essa yèrent

Passé antérieur

• j'eus essa yé
• tu eus essa yé
• il eut essa yé /elle eut essa yé
• nous eûmes essa yé
• vous eûtes essa yé
• ils eurent essa yé /elles eurent essa yé
• j'essa ierai /j'essa yerai
• tu essa ieras /tu essa yeras
• il essa iera /elle essa iera /il essa yera /elle essa yera
• nous essa ierons /nous essa yerons
• vous essa ierez /vous essa yerez
• ils essa ieront /elles essa ieront /ils essa yeront /elles essa yeront

Futur antérieur

• j'aurai essa yé
• tu auras essa yé
• il aura essa yé /elle aura essa yé
• nous aurons essa yé
• vous aurez essa yé
• ils auront essa yé /elles auront essa yé

Futur proche

• je vais essa yer
• tu vas essa yer
• il va essa yer /elle va essa yer
• nous allons essa yer
• vous allez essa yer
• ils vont essa yer /elles vont essa yer

Conditionnel

• j'essa ierais /j'essa yerais
• tu essa ierais /tu essa yerais
• il essa ierait /elle essa ierait /il essa yerait /elle essa yerait
• nous essa ierions /nous essa yerions
• vous essa ieriez /vous essa yeriez
• ils essa ieraient /elles essa ieraient /ils essa yeraient /elles essa yeraient
• j'aurais essa yé
• tu aurais essa yé
• il aurait essa yé /elle aurait essa yé
• nous aurions essa yé
• vous auriez essa yé
• ils auraient essa yé /elles auraient essa yé

Passé - forme alternative

• j'eusse essa yé
• tu eusses essa yé
• il eût essa yé /elle eût essa yé
• nous eussions essa yé
• vous eussiez essa yé
• ils eussent essa yé /elles eussent essa yé
• que j'essa ie /que j'essa ye
• que tu essa ies /que tu essa yes
• qu'il essa ie /qu'elle essa ie /qu'il essa ye /qu'elle essa ye
• que nous essa yions
• que vous essa yiez
• qu'ils essa ient /qu'elles essa ient /qu'ils essa yent /qu'elles essa yent
• que j'essa yasse
• que tu essa yasses
• qu'il essa yât /qu'elle essa yât
• que nous essa yassions
• que vous essa yassiez
• qu'ils essa yassent /qu'elles essa yassent
• que j'eusse essa yé
• que tu eusses essa yé
• qu'il eût essa yé /qu'elle eût essa yé
• que nous eussions essa yé
• que vous eussiez essa yé
• qu'ils eussent essa yé /qu'elles eussent essa yé
• que j'aie essa yé
• que tu aies essa yé
• qu'il ait essa yé /qu'elle ait essa yé
• que nous ayons essa yé
• que vous ayez essa yé
• qu'ils aient essa yé /qu'elles aient essa yé
• (tu) essa ie /(tu) essa ye
• (nous) essa yons
• (vous) essa yez

Translation

• to try, to attempt
• versuchen, probieren
• intentar, probar

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Essayer (to try) conjugation

Conjugation of essayer, examples of essayer, more french verbs, similar but longer, other french verbs with the meaning similar to 'try':, 'try' in different languages.

Conjugaison du verbe essayer

Participe passé essayer, sans accord, avec accord, passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé simple, passé antérieur, futur simple, futur antérieur, conditionnel, synonyme du verbe essayer, traduction essayer.

French verb "essayer"

Translation.

• try (attempt)
• auxiliary avoir
• first group

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Conjugation

• je essaye /e.sɛj/; essaie
• tu essayes /e.sɛj/; essaies
• il;elle;on essaye /e.sɛj/; essaie
• nous essayons /e.sɛ.jɔ̃/
• vous essayez /e.sɛ.je/
• ils;elles essayent /e.sɛj/; essaient
• je essayais /e.sɛ.jɛ/
• tu essayais /e.sɛ.jɛ/
• il;elle;on essayait /e.sɛ.jɛ/
• nous essayions /e.sɛj.jɔ̃/
• vous essayiez /e.sɛj.je/
• ils;elles essayaient /e.sɛ.jɛ/

Futur simple

• je essayerai /e.sɛj.ʁe/; essaierai
• tu essayeras /e.sɛj.ʁa/; essaieras
• il;elle;on essayera /e.sɛj.ʁa/; essaiera
• nous essayerons /e.sɛj.ʁɔ̃/; essaierons
• vous essayerez /e.sɛj.ʁe/; essaierez
• ils;elles essayeront /e.sɛj.ʁɔ̃/; essaieront

Passé simple

• je essayai /e.sɛ.je/
• tu essayas /e.sɛ.ja/
• il;elle;on essaya /e.sɛ.ja/
• nous essayâmes /e.sɛ.jam/
• vous essayâtes /e.sɛ.jat/
• ils;elles essayèrent /e.sɛ.jɛʁ/

Passé composé

• je ai essayé
• tu as essayé
• il;elle;on a essayé
• nous avons essayé
• vous avez essayé
• ils;elles ont essayé

Plus-que-parfait

• je avais essayé
• tu avais essayé
• il;elle;on avait essayé
• nous avions essayé
• vous aviez essayé
• ils;elles avaient essayé

Futur antérieur

• je aurai essayé
• tu auras essayé
• il;elle;on aura essayé
• nous aurons essayé
• vous aurez essayé
• ils;elles auront essayé

Passé antérieur

• je eus essayé
• tu eus essayé
• il;elle;on eut essayé
• nous eûmes essayé
• vous eûtes essayé
• ils;elles eurent essayé
• je essayasse /e.sɛ.jas/
• tu essayasses /e.sɛ.jas/
• il;elle;on essayât /e.sɛ.ja/
• nous essayassions /e.sɛ.ja.sjɔ̃/
• vous essayassiez /e.sɛ.ja.sje/
• ils;elles essayassent /e.sɛ.jas/
• je aie essayé
• tu aies essayé
• il;elle;on ait essayé
• nous ayons essayé
• vous ayez essayé
• ils;elles aient essayé
• je eusse essayé
• tu eusses essayé
• il;elle;on eût essayé
• nous eussions essayé
• vous eussiez essayé
• ils;elles eussent essayé

Conditionnel

• je essayerais /e.sɛj.ʁɛ/; essaierais
• tu essayerais /e.sɛj.ʁɛ/; essaierais
• il;elle;on essayerait /e.sɛj.ʁɛ/; essaierait
• nous essayerions /e.sɛ.jə.ʁjɔ̃/; essaierions
• vous essayeriez /e.sɛ.jə.ʁje/; essaieriez
• ils;elles essayeraient /e.sɛj.ʁɛ/; essaieraient
• je aurais essayé
• tu aurais essayé
• il;elle;on aurait essayé
• nous aurions essayé
• vous auriez essayé
• ils;elles auraient essayé
• tu essaye /e.sɛj/; essaie

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Essayer Meaning & Translation – To try in French

By: Author David Issokson

Posted on Published: January 7, 2024  - Last updated: January 22, 2024

In today’s lesson we’ll have a look at the verb essayer , which means “to try”. For example, j’essaie d’apprendre le français (I try to learn French). Let’s jump right into the lesson!

Essayer Meaning & Translation

Word origin.

According to Wiktionary.org , the French verb essayer is related to the noun essai (try, attempt), which comes from the Latin verb exigere (to judge, examine, weigh) and noun exagium (weight, balance).

Present tense conjugation

Essayer is a regular ER verb. This means that its endings are the same as all other French regular ER verbs when conjugated in the present tense. Essayer has two accepted spelling patterns in the present tense. The pronunciations are the exact same.

J’essaie I try Tu essaies You try (singular, informal) Il, elle essaie He, she tries Nous essayons We try Vous essayez You try (plural, formal) Ils, elles essaient They try

J’essaye I try Tu essayes You try (singular, informal) Il, elle essaye He, she tries Nous essayons We try Vous essayez You try (plural, formal) Ils, elles essayent They try

Example sentences

In our first example sentence, essayer is simply “to try”. This example uses the word jamais (never), which we cover in our French negations lesson .

Si tu n’essaies pas, tu ne réussiras jamais.

If you don’ try, you’ll never succeed.

Essayer de + infinitive

In these two example sentnces, essayer de + infinitive means “to try to do something”.

J’essaie de chanter la chanson mais c’est très difficile.

I try to sing the song but it’s very difficult.

Je vais essayer de terminer mon projet avant demain.

I’ll try to finish my project before tomorrow

Essayer + noun

In the next two examples, essayer is followed by a noun, meaning “to try something”. Essayer can also translate to “to test”. Hence, “I test the skis” could also work as a translation for this next sentence.

The les in this example sentence is a direct object pronoun, meaning “them”. This post on our site covers object pronouns in depth.

J’essaie les nouveaux skis avant de les acheter.

I try the new skies before buying them.

Nous allons essayer le nouveau restaurant ce soir.

We are going to try the new restaurant tonight.

In French, the noun essai transaltes to “try” or “attempt” and is the origin of the English word “essay”.

Il a réussi son examen au troisième essai.

He passed the exam after the third try.

Et voilà ! You now know how to use essayer in French! Now check out our other lessons covering the verbs quitter (to leave) , bosser (to work hard) and ranger (to tidy, put away) .

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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Verb conjugation of "essayer" in French

Le conditionnel: the conditional in French

When to use le conditionnel in french, how to conjugate le conditionnel in french, conditionnel présent, conditionnel passé, avoir or être, participe passé.

• Lingolia Plus French

What is le conditionnel?

Le conditionnel (the conditional) can be used in French as a tense and as a mood. As a tense, le conditionnel expresses the future seen from a past point of view. As a mood, the conditional allows us to talk about a hypothetical or imagined reality that can only occur under certain circumstances.

Learn all about le conditionnel in French with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises.

Le conditionnel is often translated with would or could in English. In French, we use the conditional in the following cases:

• to express a wish, a possibility, or a hypothesis in the present or the future (conditionnel présent) or in the past (conditionnel passé) Example: Michel aimerait être en vacances. Michel would like to be on holiday.
• as a tense to talk about the future from a past point of view Example: Michel pensait qu’il pourrait partir en voyage. Michel thought he could take a trip.
• in if-clauses (see the section on conditional clauses Example: S’il partait pour les Caraïbes, il pourrait aller à la plage tous les jours. If he went to the Caribbean, he could lie on the beach every day.
• to make polite requests Example: Michel, est-ce que tu pourrais venir au tableau? Michel, could you come to the blackboard, please?

We form the conditionnel présent by adding the imparfait endings to the stem of the futur simple form of the verb.

The verbs avoir and être are irregular.

To conjugate any French verb in the conditional, go to the verb conjugator .

Tip: the exceptions in the conditionnel présent are the same as those in the futur simple .

• Add a grave accent to an é or e that appears in the final syllable of the verb stem. Examples: peser – je p è serais modeler – je mod è lerais
• Some verbs ending in -eler/-eter double their final consonants before adding the ending. Example: jeter to throw – je je tt erais
• The i in certain -rir verbs disappears when we add the endings. Examples: courir to run – je courrais mourir to die – je mourrais
• For verbs ending in yer , y becomes i . For verbs ending in ayer , both y and i are allowed. (Note: the following verbs don’t follow this pattern: envoyer → j’enverrais and renvoyer → je renverrais .) Example: employer to employ – j’emplo i erais, tu emplo i erais, il emplo i erait, nous emplo i erions, vous emplo i eriez, ils emplo i eraient payer to pay – je pa y erais/pa i erais
• Verbs ending in - oir, as well as the verbs aller, envoyer, faire and venir, are irregular. To see their full conjugations, go to the list of irregular verbs . Example: pouvoir to be able to – je pourrais , tu pourrais , il pourrait , nous pourrions , vous pourriez , ils pourraient

The conditional passé corresponds to the English structure would have + past participle . We use it to look back on past situations and express alternative outcomes. To conjugate the conditionnel passé we use the conditional form of avoir/être followed by the participe passé of the verb.

In negative sentences , the past participle comes after the second part of the negation (pas) .

For reflexive verbs , we put the reflexive pronoun and the auxiliary verb between the two parts of the negation (ne … pas) .

Most verbs construct the conditionnel passé with avoir . The auxiliary verb être is used:

• with 14 verbs of motion and staying still: naître/mourir to be born/to die , aller/venir to go/to come , monter/descendre to go up/to go down , arriver/partir to arrive/to leave , entrer/sortir to enter/to go out , apparaître to appear , rester to stay , retourner to return , tomber to fall and their related forms such as: revenir to come back , rentrer to go back in , remonter to go back up , redescendre to go back down , repartir to leave again . Example: Je serais parti en vacances en Bretagne. I would have gone to Brittany on holiday.
• with reflexive verbs Example: Je me serais trompé dans mon calcul. I would have miscalculated.

We use avoir when descendre, (r)entrer, (re)monter, retourner and sortir are followed by a direct object. In this case, the meaning of the verb often changes.

For the regular - er/- ir/-re verbs, the participe passé is easy to construct:

• If the infinitive ends with -er , the participle ends with é Example: aim er – aim é
• If the infinitive ends with - ir , the participle ends with i Example: fin ir – fin i
• If the infinitive ends with - re , the participle ends with u Example: vend re - vend u

For the irregular verbs, we have to look up the participle forms in the list of irregular verbs , check their conjugation in the verb conjugator — or simply learn their forms by heart.

Agreement of the participe passé

For certain verbs, the participe passé must agree in gender and number .

• For verbs constructed with être , the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. Examples: Il serait part i en vacances. He would have gone on holiday. Elle serait part ie en vacances. She would have gone on holiday. Ils seraient part is en vacances. They would have gone on holiday. Elles seraient part ies en vacances. They (only women) would have gone on holiday.
• For verbs that are constructed using avoir , the participle agrees in gender and number with a direct object that comes before the verb. This direct object can take three possible forms: a personal pronoun (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) , the relative pronoun que , or a noun that comes before the verb (in questions and exclamations). Examples: Le maître aurait interrogé l’écolier . → Il l’ aurait interrogé. The teacher would have asked the student. Le maître aurait interrogé l’écolière . → Il l’ aurait interrog ée . The teacher would have asked the student. (female) Le maître aurait interrogé les écoliers . → Il les aurait interrog és . The teacher would have asked the students. (males) Le maître aurait interrogé les écolières . → Il les aurait interrog ées . The teacher would have asked the students. (all female)
• In the case of reflexive verbs (which always take être as their auxiliary in the conditionnel passé ), the past participle generally agrees with the subject. Example: Nous nous serions lev és trop tard. We would have got up too late.
• The exception to this concerns direct objects: the participle does not agree if the reflexive verb is followed by a direct object. Example: Elle se serait lavé les mains . She would have washed her hands. (Elle se serait lavé quoi? → les mains) → but: Elle se serait lav ée . She would have washed herself.
• Remember: the past participle never agrees with an indirect object:
• The participe passé does not agree with the subject of the following verbs: se téléphoner to phone each other , se parler to talk to each other , se mentir to lie to each other , se plaire (complaire/déplaire) to like each other , se sourire to smile at each other , se rire to laugh at each other , se nuire to hurt each other , se succéder to succeed each other , se suffire to be enough , se ressembler to look like each other , s’en vouloir to be annoyed with each other . This is because the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object. It is used in the sense of “each other” for these verbs.

se rendre compte

Note: the past participle of se rendre compte doesn’t change its ending to agree with the subject.

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• 1.1 Etymology
• 2.1 Etymology
• 2.2 Pronunciation
• 2.3.1 Conjugation
• 2.3.2 Related terms
• 2.4 Further reading
• 2.5 Paronyms
• 2.6 Anagrams
• 3.1.1 Conjugation
• 4.1.1 Synonyms

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

From essay +‎ -er .

Noun [ edit ]

essayer ( plural essayers )

• ( obsolete ) One who performs an essay ; an experimenter .

French [ edit ]

Inherited from Middle French essayer , essaier , from Old French essaiier , essayer , essaier , from essay , essai ( “ attempt; assay; experiment ” ) + -er ( “ infinitive-forming suffix ” ) , from Late Latin exagium ( “ weight; weighing, testing on the balance ” ) , from Latin exigere + -ium , from ex- + agere , from Proto-Italic *agō , from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti .

Pronunciation [ edit ]

• IPA ( key ) : /e.sɛ.je/ , /e.se.je/

Verb [ edit ]

• ( transitive ) to test , to try on Essayez cette chemise. ― Try this shirt on .
• 2018 , Zaz, Résigne-moi : J ’essaie vraiment d ’ t’aider sans m’oublier. I'm truly trying to help you without forgetting myself.
• ( reflexive , transitive with à ) to try one's hand at s’essayer à quelque chose ― to try one's hand at something

Conjugation [ edit ]

This is a regular -er verb as far as pronunciation is concerned, but as with other verbs in -ayer (such as payer and essayer , the <y> of its stem may optionally be written as <i> when it precedes a silent <e> (compare verbs in -eyer , which never have this spelling change, and verbs in -oyer and -uyer , which always have it; verbs in -ayer belong to either group, according to the writer's preference).

Related terms [ edit ]

• bien essayé

Further reading [ edit ]

• “ essayer ”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [ Digitized Treasury of the French Language ] , 2012 .

Paronyms [ edit ]

Anagrams [ edit ].

• ressaye , ressayé

Middle French [ edit ]

• ( transitive ) to test
• ( with "de" ) to try
• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Norwegian Bokmål [ edit ]

essayer   n

• indefinite singular of essay

Synonyms [ edit ]

• English terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English terms with obsolete senses
• French terms inherited from Middle French
• French terms derived from Middle French
• French terms inherited from Old French
• French terms derived from Old French
• French terms derived from Late Latin
• French terms derived from Latin
• French terms derived from Proto-Italic
• French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
• French 3-syllable words
• French terms with IPA pronunciation
• French terms with audio links
• French lemmas
• French verbs
• French transitive verbs
• French terms with usage examples
• French terms with quotations
• French reflexive verbs
• French verbs with conjugation -ayer
• French first group verbs
• Middle French lemmas
• Middle French verbs
• Middle French transitive verbs
• Middle French first group verbs
• Norwegian Bokmål non-lemma forms
• Norwegian Bokmål noun forms
• Quotation templates to be cleaned

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