essayer Present Tense Conjugation in French

The present of essayer — try — is the form you need for habits, facts and things happening now. essayer is the verb for trying on clothes: it comes up whenever you talk about tasting a new dish or trying something new. This page gives you the complete present table for essayer, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.”

Present conjugation of essayer

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for essayer. essayer is regular with a spelling change (yer) (irregular in the present), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Present — essayer

Person Form
je essaie
tu essaies
il/elle essaie
nous essayons
vous essayez
ils/elles essaient

The gerund of essayer is en essayant and the past participle is essayé. The participle matters here because the present is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the present of essayer is formed

The present of essayer is formed from its stem with the present endings. The six forms are essaie, essaies, essaie, essayons, essayez and essaient. Watch the spelling change (yer): the stem changes in some persons, exactly as the table shows. Copy them from the table above exactly as written — do not guess a form from the infinitive.

A note on spelling: the forms in the table are the verified forms. If a form carries an accent, the accent is part of the spelling — for example essaie — so always write it exactly as shown.

The present is the tense to learn first for essayer: every other tense in the full table is built from patterns you meet here, and the present is the form you will use most often in conversation.

When to use the present of essayer

Habits and routines

Use the present for something you do regularly. For example: “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.”

Facts and general truths

Use the present for facts that are true in general. For example: “Il essaie le gâteau.” — “He tries the cake.”

Things happening now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment. For example: “Nous essayons un vélo.” — “We try a bike.”

Near future plans

French often uses the present with a time word for a plan that is already fixed. For example: “J'essaie une nouvelle méthode.” — “I try a new method.”

Present vs passé composé: essayer finished, essayer in progress

The present and the passé composé are the two tenses learners confuse most with essayer. The present is for habits, facts and things happening now; the passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. Compare the pairs below — the present form comes from this page, the passé composé form from the full conjugation table.

  • Present: “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.”

  • Passé composé: “J'ai essayé une robe cette semaine.” — “I have tried a dress this week.”

  • Present: “Il essaie le gâteau.” — “He tries the cake.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a essayé le gâteau cette semaine.” — “He has tried the cake this week.”

  • Present: “Nous essayons un vélo.” — “We try a bike.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons essayé un vélo cette semaine.” — “We have tried a bike this week.”

Example sentences: essayer in the present

Six sentences using only the present of essayer, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “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.”

Common mistakes in the present of essayer

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je essayons une robe.”

✓ Right: “Je essaie une robe.”

essayons is the nous form. With je the present form is essaie.

2. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je essayer le gâteau.”

✓ Right: “Je essaie le gâteau.”

The infinitive essayer never takes a subject. After je you need essaie.

3. Using the passé composé for a habit

✗ Wrong: “Tous les jours, j'ai essayé un vélo.”

✓ Right: “Tous les jours, je essaie un vélo.”

A habit needs the present essaie, not the passé composé.

4. Using the present where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je essaie une nouvelle méthode tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je essayais une nouvelle méthode tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect essayais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu essaie une robe.”

✓ Right: “Tu essaies une robe.”

With tu the present form is essaies, not essaie. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the present of essayer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  5. What is the vous form of essayer in the Present indicative?

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

  6. What is the ils/elles form of essayer in the Present indicative?

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

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

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

  8. What is the gerund of essayer?

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

  9. What is the past participle of essayer?

    • A) dormi
    • B) essayé
    • C) bu

  10. What does essayer mean in English?

  • A) sleep
  • B) open
  • C) drink
  • D) try

Answer key

  1. A) essaie — The je form of essayer in the present indicative is essaie.
  2. A) essaies — The tu form of essayer in the present indicative is essaies.
  3. D) essaie — The il/elle form of essayer in the present indicative is essaie.
  4. A) essayons — The nous form of essayer in the present indicative is essayons.
  5. B) essayez — The vous form of essayer in the present indicative is essayez.
  6. B) essaient — The ils/elles form of essayer in the present indicative is essaient.
  7. B) ai essayé — The je form of essayer in the present perfect is ai essayé.
  8. A) essayant — The gerund of essayer is en essayant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. B) essayé — The past participle of essayer is essayé; perfect tenses use avoir + essayé.
  10. D) try — essayer means “try” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present of essayer?

Use it for habits, facts and things happening now. For essayer that covers trying on clothes, tasting a new dish and trying something new.

Is the present of essayer regular?

essayer is regular with a spelling change (yer). In the present it is irregular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of essayer?

The past participle is essayé. You need it for the passé composé, which uses avoir + essayé.

How do I say “I try” in the present?

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

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.

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