Essayer Conjugation in French

essayer means “try” in English, and it is a verb French learners meet early — it sits in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French. You use it for trying on clothes, for tasting a new dish, and for trying something new. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of essayer — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: essayer
  • English: try
  • Verb type: Regular with a spelling change (yer)
  • Irregular in: present, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
  • Gerund: en essayant
  • Past participle: essayé
  • Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)

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.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for essayer. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present indicative

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

Passé simple

Person Form
je essayai
tu essayas
il/elle essaya
nous essayâmes
vous essayâtes
ils/elles essayèrent

Imperfect

Person Form
je essayais
tu essayais
il/elle essayait
nous essayions
vous essayiez
ils/elles essayaient

Future

Person Form
je essaierai
tu essaieras
il/elle essaiera
nous essaierons
vous essaierez
ils/elles essaieront

Conditional

Person Form
je essaierais
tu essaierais
il/elle essaierait
nous essaierions
vous essaieriez
ils/elles essaieraient

Present subjunctive

Person Form
je essaie
tu essaies
il/elle essaie
nous essayions
vous essayiez
ils/elles essaient

Imperfect subjunctive

Person Form
je essayasse
tu essayasses
il/elle essayât
nous essayassions
vous essayassiez
ils/elles essayassent

Present perfect

Person Form
je ai essayé
tu as essayé
il/elle a essayé
nous avons essayé
vous avez essayé
ils/elles ont essayé

Pluperfect (past perfect)

Person Form
je avais essayé
tu avais essayé
il/elle avait essayé
nous avions essayé
vous aviez essayé
ils/elles avaient essayé

Future perfect

Person Form
je aurai essayé
tu auras essayé
il/elle aura essayé
nous aurons essayé
vous aurez essayé
ils/elles auront essayé

Conditional perfect

Person Form
je aurais essayé
tu aurais essayé
il/elle aurait essayé
nous aurions essayé
vous auriez essayé
ils/elles auraient essayé

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu essaie
nous essayons
vous essayez

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu essaie
nous essayons
vous essayez

Gerund and past participle

Form French
Gerund en essayant
Past participle essayé

When to use each tense

Present indicative

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With essayer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “J'essaie le gâteau.” — “I try the cake.”

Passé simple

The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. For example: “J'essayai le gâteau hier.” — “I tried the cake yesterday.”

Imperfect

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “J'essayais le gâteau avant.” — “I used to try the cake before.”

Future

The future is used for what will happen, predictions and plans. For example: “J'essaierai le gâteau demain.” — “I will try the cake tomorrow.”

Conditional

The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “J'essaierais le gâteau un jour.” — “I would try the cake one day.”

Present subjunctive

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With essayer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Bien que j'essaie le gâteau” — “Although I try the cake.”

Imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, in formal and literary French. For example: “Bien que j'essayasse le gâteau” — “Although I try the cake.”

Present perfect

The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For example: “J'ai essayé le gâteau cette semaine.” — “I have tried the cake this week.”

Pluperfect (past perfect)

The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais essayé le gâteau avant la fête.” — “I had tried the cake before the party.”

Future perfect

The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “J'aurai essayé le gâteau pour demain.” — “I will have tried the cake by tomorrow.”

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “J'aurais essayé le gâteau hier.” — “I would have tried the cake yesterday.”

Imperative (affirmative)

The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With essayer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “essaie le gâteau !” — “Try the cake!”

Imperative (negative)

The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With essayer this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ne essaie pas le gâteau !” — “Don't try the cake!”

Gerund and past participle

The gerund en essayant is used after en for an action in progress, and the past participle essayé builds the perfect tenses with avoir. For example: “J'ai essayé un vélo cette semaine.” — “I have tried a bike this week.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with essayer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “J'essaie une robe.” — “I try a dress.”
  2. “Tu essayas le gâteau hier.” — “You tried the cake yesterday.”
  3. “Il essayait un vélo avant.” — “He used to try a bike before.”
  4. “J'essaierai une nouvelle méthode demain.” — “I will try a new method tomorrow.”
  5. “Tu essaierais une robe un jour.” — “You would try a dress one day.”
  6. “Il a essayé le gâteau cette semaine.” — “He has tried the cake this week.”
  7. “J'avais essayé un vélo avant la fête.” — “I had tried a bike before the party.”
  8. “Tu auras essayé une nouvelle méthode pour demain.” — “You will have tried a new method by tomorrow.”
  9. “Bien que il essaie une robe” — “Although he tries a dress.”
  10. “essaie le gâteau !” — “Try the cake!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je essayer une robe.”

✓ Right: “Je essaie une robe.”

The infinitive essayer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form essaie.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je essayons le gâteau.”

✓ Right: “Je essaie le gâteau.”

essayons is the nous form. With je the present form is essaie — check the person in the table before you speak.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je essaie une robe.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai essayé une robe.”

The present essaie describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai essayé.

4. Using the passé simple in everyday speech

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je essayai un vélo.” (in casual conversation)

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai essayé un vélo.”

The passé simple essayai belongs in novels and formal writing. In everyday speech, say the passé composé ai essayé.

5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Bien que je essaie une robe.”

✓ Right: “Bien que je essaie une robe.”

After bien que French needs the subjunctive, so use essaie here, not the indicative essaie.

6. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

✗ Wrong: “Je essayais une nouvelle méthode avant.” (said of one finished moment)

✓ Right: “J'ai essayé une nouvelle méthode avant.”

The imperfect essayais describes something ongoing or repeated in the past. For one finished action, use the passé composé ai essayé.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  2. What is the il/elle form of essayer in the Passé simple?

    • A) essayèrent
    • B) essayas
    • C) essaya
    • D) essayai

  3. What is the nous form of essayer in the Imperfect?

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

  4. What is the tu form of essayer in the Future?

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

  5. What is the je form of essayer in the Conditional?

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

  6. What is the il/elle form of essayer in the Present subjunctive?

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

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

    • A) essayassiez
    • B) essayasse
    • C) essayasses
    • D) essayassent

  8. What is the gerund of essayer?

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

  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) try
  • D) drink

Answer key

  1. B) essaie — The je form of essayer in the present indicative is essaie.
  2. C) essaya — The il/elle form of essayer in the passé simple is essaya.
  3. B) essayions — The nous form of essayer in the imperfect is essayions.
  4. A) essaieras — The tu form of essayer in the future is essaieras.
  5. B) essaierais — The je form of essayer in the conditional is essaierais.
  6. D) essaie — The il/elle form of essayer in the present subjunctive is essaie.
  7. B) essayasse — The je form of essayer in the imperfect subjunctive is essayasse.
  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. C) try — essayer means “try” in English.

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. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

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.

What are the gerund and past participle of essayer?

The gerund is en essayant — use it after en for actions in progress. The past participle is essayé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai 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, and it is the form you will use most often.

What is the difference between essayer and acheter?

essayer means “try” while acheter means “buy” — they describe different actions, so they are not interchangeable. Compare the full table for acheter and check the meaning in context before you choose.

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