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
to try
Essayer – To try
Word origin
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
To try
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. This sentence is in the futur simple, a commonly used French future tense.
Si tu n’essaies pas, tu ne réussiras jamais.
If you don’ try, you’ll never succeed.
Essayer de + infinitive
In these two example sentences, 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.
Noun essai
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.
Conclusion
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).
References
