essayer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in French

essayer — try — is one of the verbs you will use every day in French. essayer is the verb for trying on clothes: it comes up whenever you talk about tasting a new dish or trying something new. On this page you will find essayer in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with essayer

In the present tense

  • “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.”
  • “Tu essaies le gâteau.” — “You try the cake.”
  • “Il essaie un vélo.” — “He tries a bike.”
  • “Nous essayons une nouvelle méthode.” — “We try a new method.”
  • “Vous essayez une robe.” — “You try a dress.”
  • “Ils essaient le gâteau.” — “They try the cake.”

In the passé composé

  • “J'ai essayé une robe cette semaine.” — “I have tried a dress this week.”
  • “Tu as essayé le gâteau cette semaine.” — “You have tried the cake this week.”
  • “Il a essayé un vélo cette semaine.” — “He has tried a bike this week.”
  • “Nous avons essayé une nouvelle méthode cette semaine.” — “We have tried a new method this week.”
  • “Vous avez essayé une robe cette semaine.” — “You have tried a dress this week.”
  • “Ils ont essayé le gâteau cette semaine.” — “They have tried the cake this week.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “J'essayais une robe avant.” — “I used to try a dress before.”
  • “J'essaierai le gâteau demain.” — “I will try the cake tomorrow.”
  • “J'essaierais un vélo un jour.” — “I would try a bike one day.”
  • “Bien que il essaie une nouvelle méthode” — “Although he tries a new method.”

essayer in context

J'essaie une robe. Tu essaies le gâteau. Il essaie un vélo. Nous essayons une nouvelle méthode.

I try a dress. You try the cake. He tries a bike. We try a new method.

J'ai essayé une robe. Il a essayé le gâteau. Nous avons essayé un vélo.

I have tried a dress this week. He has tried the cake this week. We have tried a bike this week.

Common mistakes with essayer

Mistake 1

Wrong: Je essayer une robe.

Right: Je essaie une robe.

The infinitive never takes a subject: after je you need the conjugated form essaie.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Je essayons le gâteau.

Right: Je essaie le gâteau.

essayons is the nous form. With je, use essaie.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Hier, je essaie un vélo.

Right: Hier, j'ai essayé un vélo.

Yesterday needs the passé composé ai essayé, not the present.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Bien que je essaie une nouvelle méthode.

Right: Bien que je essaie une nouvelle méthode.

After bien que French needs the subjunctive essaie.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Je essayais une robe hier. (said of one finished moment)

Right: J'ai essayé une robe hier.

The imperfect describes an ongoing or repeated past. One finished moment yesterday takes the passé composé.

Quiz: test yourself on essayer

Ten questions on essayer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the tu form of essayer in the Present indicative?

    • A) essayez
    • B) essayons
    • C) essaie
    • D) essaies

  2. What is the nous form of essayer in the Present indicative?

    • A) essayez
    • B) essayons
    • C) essaies
    • D) essaie

  3. What is the il/elle form of essayer in the Present perfect?

    • A) ont essayé
    • B) a essayé
    • C) avez essayé
    • D) avons essayé

  4. What is the je form of essayer in the Imperfect?

    • A) essayiez
    • B) essayais
    • C) essayions
    • D) essayait

  5. What is the nous form of essayer in the Future?

    • A) essaieras
    • B) essaierai
    • C) essaierons
    • D) essaieront

  6. What is the tu form of essayer in the Conditional?

    • A) essaierions
    • B) essaieraient
    • C) essaierais
    • D) essaierait

  7. What is the je form of essayer in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) essaie
    • B) essayions
    • C) essayiez
    • D) essaient

  8. What is the il/elle form of essayer in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) essayasses
    • B) essayasse
    • C) essayassions
    • D) essayât

  9. What is the gerund of essayer?

    • A) buvant
    • B) essayant
    • C) dormant

  10. What is the past participle of essayer?

  • A) bu
  • B) dormi
  • C) essayé

Answer key

  1. D) essaies — The tu form of essayer in the present indicative is essaies.
  2. B) essayons — The nous form of essayer in the present indicative is essayons.
  3. B) a essayé — The il/elle form of essayer in the present perfect is a essayé.
  4. B) essayais — The je form of essayer in the imperfect is essayais.
  5. C) essaierons — The nous form of essayer in the future is essaierons.
  6. C) essaierais — The tu form of essayer in the conditional is essaierais.
  7. A) essaie — The je form of essayer in the present subjunctive is essaie.
  8. D) essayât — The il/elle form of essayer in the imperfect subjunctive is essayât.
  9. B) essayant — The gerund of essayer is en essayant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  10. C) essayé — The past participle of essayer is essayé; perfect tenses use avoir + essayé.

Frequently asked questions

What does essayer mean in English?

essayer means “try”. You use it for trying on clothes, for tasting a new dish, and for trying something new.

Is essayer regular or irregular?

essayer is regular with a spelling change (yer), and it is irregular in these tenses: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is en essayant and the past participle is essayé.

How do I say “I try” in French?

Say “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.” The je form of the present is essaie.

Where can I see the full conjugation of essayer?

On the full conjugation page, which has every tense, and on the Essayer Present Tense Conjugation in French page.

How to practise essayer this week

Pick one tense a day and say five sentences with essayer out loud, using the examples on this page as your starting point. On the first day, use only the present tense and the complements from the examples above — une robe, le gâteau and un vélo — and change only the person, so you hear how essaie, essaies and essaie sound next to each other. On the second day, retell yesterday in the passé composé with ai essayé and the other perfect forms from the table. On the third day, write three short plans for tomorrow in the future tense, and on the fourth day, turn them into polite conditional sentences. Keep a small notebook and write each new sentence down: seeing en essayant and essayé in your own handwriting fixes them in memory far better than reading them once. Finally, take the quiz above again without looking at the answer key — when you can answer all ten questions from memory, move on to the next verb in the hub.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for essayer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages