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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  • Pronunciation & Conversation
  • Resources For Teachers

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.

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

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.

Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passé Simple Imperfect Subjunctive
j' essaie
essaye
essaierais
essayerais
essayai essayasse
tu essaies
essayes
essaierais
essayerais
essayas essayasses
il essaie
essaye
essaierait
essayerait
essaya essayât
nous essayions essaierions
essayerions
essayâmes essayassions
vous essayiez essaieriez
essayeriez
essayâtes essayassiez
ils essaient
essayent
essaieraient
essayeraient
essayèrent essayassent

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 ."

Imperative
(tu) essaie
essaye
(nous) essayons
(vous) essayez
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FrenchLearner.com

Essayer – To try

By: Author David Issokson

Posted on Published: January 7, 2024  - Last updated: June 16, 2024

Essayer – To try

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 in French

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

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.

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).

Word of the Day Lessons

Essayer is a verb that means

Lessons by David Issokson

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven 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 lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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conjugating the verb essayer

  • Conjugation essayer
  • Exercise essayer

Conjugation French verb essayer

Translation essayer, indicatif (indicative), présent (present), passé composé (present perfect), imparfait (imperfect), plus-que-parfait (pluperfect), passé simple (simple past), passé antérieur (past perfect), futur simple (future), futur antérieur (past future), conditionnel (conditional), passé (perfect), subjonctif (subjunctive), passé (past), impératif (imperative), infinitif (infinitive), participe (participle), gérondif (gerund), synonyms for the verb essayer.

exercice

conjugating the verb essayer

Conjugation of the verb essayer

j'essaie / j'essaye

tu essaies / tu essayes

il essaie / il essaye / elle essaie / elle essaye

nous essayons

vous essayez

ils essaient / ils essayent / elles essaient / elles essayent

tu essayais

il essayait / elle essayait

nous essayions

vous essayiez

ils essayaient / elles essayaient

passé simple

il essaya / elle essaya

nous essayâmes

vous essayâtes

ils essayèrent / elles essayèrent

futur simple

j'essaierai / j'essayerai

tu essaieras / tu essayeras

il essaiera / il essayera / elle essaiera / elle essayera

nous essaierons / nous essayerons

vous essaierez / vous essayerez

ils essaieront / ils essayeront / elles essaieront / elles essayeront

passé composé

j'ai essayé

tu as essayé

il a essayé / elle a essayé

nous avons essayé

vous avez essayé

ils ont essayé / elles ont essayé

plus-que-parfait

j'avais essayé

tu avais essayé

il avait essayé / elle avait essayé

nous avions essayé

vous aviez essayé

ils avaient essayé / elles avaient essayé

passé antérieur

j'eus essayé

tu eus essayé

il eut essayé / elle eut essayé

nous eûmes essayé

vous eûtes essayé

ils eurent essayé / elles eurent essayé

futur antérieur

j'aurai essayé

tu auras essayé

il aura essayé / elle aura essayé

nous aurons essayé

vous aurez essayé

ils auront essayé / elles auront essayé

que j'essaie / que j'essaye

que tu essaies / que tu essayes

qu'il essaie / qu'il essaye / qu'elle essaie / qu'elle essaye

que nous essayions

que vous essayiez

qu'ils essaient / qu'ils essayent / qu'elles essaient / qu'elles essayent

que j'essayasse

que tu essayasses

qu'il essayât / qu'elle essayât

que nous essayassions

que vous essayassiez

qu'ils essayassent / qu'elles essayassent

que j'aie essayé

que tu aies essayé

qu'il ait essayé / qu'elle ait essayé

que nous ayons essayé

que vous ayez essayé

qu'ils aient essayé / qu'elles aient essayé

que j'eusse essayé

que tu eusses essayé

qu'il eût essayé / qu'elle eût essayé

que nous eussions essayé

que vous eussiez essayé

qu'ils eussent essayé / qu'elles eussent essayé

conditionnel

j'essaierais / j'essayerais

tu essaierais / tu essayerais

il essaierait / il essayerait / elle essaierait / elle essayerait

nous essaierions / nous essayerions

vous essaieriez / vous essayeriez

ils essaieraient / ils essayeraient / elles essaieraient / elles essayeraient

passé 1re forme

j'aurais essayé

tu aurais essayé

il aurait essayé / elle aurait essayé

nous aurions essayé

vous auriez essayé

ils auraient essayé / elles auraient essayé

passé 2e forme

j'eusse essayé

tu eusses essayé

il eût essayé / elle eût essayé

nous eussions essayé

vous eussiez essayé

ils eussent essayé / elles eussent essayé

essaie / essaye

ayons essayé

ayez essayé

ayant essayé

avoir essayé

je suis essayé / je suis essayée

tu es essayé / tu es essayée

il est essayé / elle est essayée

nous sommes essayés / nous sommes essayées

vous êtes essayés / vous êtes essayées

ils sont essayés / elles sont essayées

j'étais essayé / j'étais essayée

tu étais essayé / tu étais essayée

il était essayé / elle était essayée

nous étions essayés / nous étions essayées

vous étiez essayés / vous étiez essayées

ils étaient essayés / elles étaient essayées

je fus essayé / je fus essayée

tu fus essayé / tu fus essayée

il fut essayé / elle fut essayée

nous fûmes essayés / nous fûmes essayées

vous fûtes essayés / vous fûtes essayées

ils furent essayés / elles furent essayées

je serai essayé / je serai essayée

tu seras essayé / tu seras essayée

il sera essayé / elle sera essayée

nous serons essayés / nous serons essayées

vous serez essayés / vous serez essayées

ils seront essayés / elles seront essayées

j'ai été essayé / j'ai été essayée

tu as été essayé / tu as été essayée

il a été essayé / elle a été essayée

nous avons été essayés / nous avons été essayées

vous avez été essayés / vous avez été essayées

ils ont été essayés / elles ont été essayées

j'avais été essayé / j'avais été essayée

tu avais été essayé / tu avais été essayée

il avait été essayé / elle avait été essayée

nous avions été essayés / nous avions été essayées

vous aviez été essayés / vous aviez été essayées

ils avaient été essayés / elles avaient été essayées

j'eus été essayé / j'eus été essayée

tu eus été essayé / tu eus été essayée

il eut été essayé / elle eut été essayée

nous eûmes été essayés / nous eûmes été essayées

vous eûtes été essayés / vous eûtes été essayées

ils eurent été essayés / elles eurent été essayées

j'aurai été essayé / j'aurai été essayée

tu auras été essayé / tu auras été essayée

il aura été essayé / elle aura été essayée

nous aurons été essayés / nous aurons été essayées

vous aurez été essayés / vous aurez été essayées

ils auront été essayés / elles auront été essayées

que je sois essayé / que je sois essayée

que tu sois essayé / que tu sois essayée

qu'il soit essayé / qu'elle soit essayée

que nous soyons essayés / que nous soyons essayées

que vous soyez essayés / que vous soyez essayées

qu'ils soient essayés / qu'elles soient essayées

que je fusse essayé / que je fusse essayée

que tu fusses essayé / que tu fusses essayée

qu'il fût essayé / qu'elle fût essayée

que nous fussions essayés / que nous fussions essayées

que vous fussiez essayés / que vous fussiez essayées

qu'ils fussent essayés / qu'elles fussent essayées

que j'aie été essayé / que j'aie été essayée

que tu aies été essayé / que tu aies été essayée

qu'il ait été essayé / qu'elle ait été essayée

que nous ayons été essayés / que nous ayons été essayées

que vous ayez été essayés / que vous ayez été essayées

qu'ils aient été essayés / qu'elles aient été essayées

que j'eusse été essayé / que j'eusse été essayée

que tu eusses été essayé / que tu eusses été essayée

qu'il eût été essayé / qu'elle eût été essayée

que nous eussions été essayés / que nous eussions été essayées

que vous eussiez été essayés / que vous eussiez été essayées

qu'ils eussent été essayés / qu'elles eussent été essayées

je serais essayé / je serais essayée

tu serais essayé / tu serais essayée

il serait essayé / elle serait essayée

nous serions essayés / nous serions essayées

vous seriez essayés / vous seriez essayées

ils seraient essayés / elles seraient essayées

j'aurais été essayé / j'aurais été essayée

tu aurais été essayé / tu aurais été essayée

il aurait été essayé / elle aurait été essayée

nous aurions été essayés / nous aurions été essayées

vous auriez été essayés / vous auriez été essayées

ils auraient été essayés / elles auraient été essayées

j'eusse été essayé / j'eusse été essayée

tu eusses été essayé / tu eusses été essayée

il eût été essayé / elle eût été essayée

nous eussions été essayés / nous eussions été essayées

vous eussiez été essayés / vous eussiez été essayées

ils eussent été essayés / elles eussent été essayées

sois essayé / sois essayée

soyons essayés / soyons essayées

soyez essayés / soyez essayées

aie été essayé / aie été essayée

ayons été essayés / ayons été essayées

ayez été essayés / ayez été essayées

étant essayé

étant essayée

étant essayés

étant essayées

essayé / ayant été essayé

essayée / ayant été essayée

essayés / ayant été essayés

essayées / ayant été essayées

être essayé

être essayée

être essayés

être essayées

avoir été essayé

avoir été essayée

avoir été essayés

avoir été essayées

je m'essaie / je m'essaye

tu t'essaies / tu t'essayes

il s'essaie / il s'essaye / elle s'essaie / elle s'essaye

nous nous essayons

vous vous essayez

ils s'essaient / ils s'essayent / elles s'essaient / elles s'essayent

je m'essayais

tu t'essayais

il s'essayait / elle s'essayait

nous nous essayions

vous vous essayiez

ils s'essayaient / elles s'essayaient

je m'essayai

tu t'essayas

il s'essaya / elle s'essaya

nous nous essayâmes

vous vous essayâtes

ils s'essayèrent / elles s'essayèrent

je m'essaierai / je m'essayerai

tu t'essaieras / tu t'essayeras

il s'essaiera / il s'essayera / elle s'essaiera / elle s'essayera

nous nous essaierons / nous nous essayerons

vous vous essaierez / vous vous essayerez

ils s'essaieront / ils s'essayeront / elles s'essaieront / elles s'essayeront

je me suis essayé / je me suis essayée

tu t'es essayé / tu t'es essayée

il s'est essayé / elle s'est essayée

nous nous sommes essayés / nous nous sommes essayées

vous vous êtes essayés / vous vous êtes essayées

ils se sont essayés / elles se sont essayées

tu t'étais essayé / tu t'étais essayée

il s'était essayé / elle s'était essayée

nous nous étions essayés / nous nous étions essayées

vous vous étiez essayés / vous vous étiez essayées

ils s'étaient essayés / elles s'étaient essayées

je me fus essayé / je me fus essayée

tu te fus essayé / tu te fus essayée

il se fut essayé / elle se fut essayée

nous nous fûmes essayés / nous nous fûmes essayées

vous vous fûtes essayés / vous vous fûtes essayées

ils se furent essayés / elles se furent essayées

je me serai essayé / je me serai essayée

tu te seras essayé / tu te seras essayée

il se sera essayé / elle se sera essayée

nous nous serons essayés / nous nous serons essayées

vous vous serez essayés / vous vous serez essayées

ils se seront essayés / elles se seront essayées

que je m'essaie / que je m'essaye

que tu t'essaies / que tu t'essayes

qu'il s'essaie / qu'il s'essaye / qu'elle s'essaie / qu'elle s'essaye

que nous nous essayions

que vous vous essayiez

qu'ils s'essaient / qu'ils s'essayent / qu'elles s'essaient / qu'elles s'essayent

que je m'essayasse

que tu t'essayasses

qu'il s'essayât / qu'elle s'essayât

que nous nous essayassions

que vous vous essayassiez

qu'ils s'essayassent / qu'elles s'essayassent

que je me sois essayé / que je me sois essayée

que tu te sois essayé / que tu te sois essayée

qu'il se soit essayé / qu'elle se soit essayée

que nous nous soyons essayés / que nous nous soyons essayées

que vous vous soyez essayés / que vous vous soyez essayées

qu'ils se soient essayés / qu'elles se soient essayées

que je me fusse essayé / que je me fusse essayée

que tu te fusses essayé / que tu te fusses essayée

qu'il se fût essayé / qu'elle se fût essayée

que nous nous fussions essayés / que nous nous fussions essayées

que vous vous fussiez essayés / que vous vous fussiez essayées

qu'ils se fussent essayés / qu'elles se fussent essayées

je m'essaierais / je m'essayerais

tu t'essaierais / tu t'essayerais

il s'essaierait / il s'essayerait / elle s'essaierait / elle s'essayerait

nous nous essaierions / nous nous essayerions

vous vous essaieriez / vous vous essayeriez

ils s'essaieraient / ils s'essayeraient / elles s'essaieraient / elles s'essayeraient

je me serais essayé / je me serais essayée

tu te serais essayé / tu te serais essayée

il se serait essayé / elle se serait essayée

nous nous serions essayés / nous nous serions essayées

vous vous seriez essayés / vous vous seriez essayées

ils se seraient essayés / elles se seraient essayées

je me fusse essayé / je me fusse essayée

tu te fusses essayé / tu te fusses essayée

il se fût essayé / elle se fût essayée

nous nous fussions essayés / nous nous fussions essayées

vous vous fussiez essayés / vous vous fussiez essayées

ils se fussent essayés / elles se fussent essayées

essaie-toi / essaye-toi

essayons-nous

essayez-vous

essayé / s'étant essayé

essayée / s'étant essayée

essayés / s'étant essayés

essayées / s'étant essayées

s'être essayé

s'être essayée

s'être essayés

s'être essayées

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French: essayer

French verb 'essayer' conjugated.

conjugating the verb essayer

To sign
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Firmar, subscribir
Signer
Firmare
签字
Verb is 100% regular
 RANDOM VERB

essayer conjugations

essayer conjugations

Conjugaison du verbe essayer

Participe passé essayer, sans accord.

Masculin Féminin
Singulier essa essa
Pluriel essa essa

Avec accord

Passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé simple, passé antérieur, futur simple, futur antérieur, conditionnel, synonyme du verbe essayer, traduction essayer.

exercice

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Verbs like 'essayer': why do they have two conjugations?

Please view: http://www.wordreference.com/conj/FrVerbs.aspx?v=essayer

My friend explained it has to do with older French and modern French, I think. And he mentioned something about people who live in the countryside tend to use the 'y' form more. I just wanted to understand this a bit better. Merci en avance !

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conjugating the verb essayer

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Essayer - [fr:]exercice pour apprendre à conjuguer[/fr:] [en:]exercise to learn to conjugate in french[/en:], [fr:]conjugue le verbe essayer au présent de l'indicatif, à l'imparfait, au futur simple et au passé composé[/fr:] [en:]conjugate the verb essayer with présent de l'indicatif, imparfait, futur simple and passé composé.[/en:], question 1., question 2., question 3., question 4., question 5., question 6., question 7., question 8., question 9., question 10..

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conjugating the verb essayer

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Conjugación verbo essayer - francés

Modelo : marcher / balayer

Auxiliar : avoir

Otras formas: s'essayer / ne pas essayer / ne pas s'essayer

Los verbos regulares del 1 grupo siguen este modelo de conjugación (verbos terminados en -er). Verbos terminados en -ayer siguen al mismo tiempo este modelo (il balaye) y el modelo de balayer (il balaie)

La declinación de este verbo presenta algunas variantes ortográficas que podrían conllevar significados distintos. Seleccione una variante o todas en el menù.

  • 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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Essayer: j'essaie, or j'essaye?

I was confused how I should conjugate the verb essayer , or any other ones like nettoyer .

I looked up in a conjugation website,

J'essaie / ye

I'm guessing that means both j'essaie and j'essaye are accepted. However, my teacher said to use j'essaie .

Which one is correct? If both are accepted, is there any difference?

  • conjugaison

didgocks's user avatar

  • 2 In newspaper and other media, you will find: essaie. Go with what your teacher said. –  Lambie Commented Jan 17, 2017 at 21:45
  • 1 Yes, even if both are correct, the -aie form is much more common. –  biozic Commented Jan 17, 2017 at 22:12
  • Do you guys have hard data about that? –  Frank Commented Jan 17, 2017 at 22:23
  • According to ngram, the they are very close . –  Teleporting Goat Commented Jan 18, 2017 at 15:07
  • @TeleportingGoat I think it's due to the fact that you chose "English"... if you choose "French" for the "corpus", then the result is significantly different... –  Yai0Phah Commented Jan 22, 2017 at 17:50

It looks like both are in regular use today, and that this is also the case for "payer", "balayer", as well as any other verb in "-ayer". I am not aware of any rule mandating to use one rather than the other when writing vs. speaking.

The pronunciation is slightly different though: "j'essaye" would sound at the end like "pareil", whereas "j'essaie" would sound like "sait".

I am not aware that one pronunciation or the other would have this or that connotation. It is even possible for native speakers to use both in the same conversation.

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conjugating the verb essayer

conjugating the verb essayer

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  • French Verbs

Être Conjugation in the Present Tense [+11 Examples]

  • Sam Denishin
  • May 2, 2020

être conjugation in the present tense

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In this French grammar lesson, you will learn about être conjugation in the present tense .

In this lesson you will learn about:

  • how être is conjugated in French
  • how être is used in French
  • how être is pronounced in French
  • how être is used in sentences in French
  • how you can quiz yourself on être conjugation in the present tense
  • how to practice with flashcards for être conjugation
  • how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn French

Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1 .

By the end of the lesson you will know all about être conjugation in the present tense!

Table of Contents

Être conjugation in the present tense.

jesuis
tues
il/elle/onest
noussommes
vousêtes
ils/ellessont

Usage of Être

This section on être conjugation in the present tense will show you how être is used in French.

Être which means “to be” and is an irregular verb.

There are 4 general usages for the verb être in French.

  • To present oneself
J e suis Mme Martin I am Miss Martin

This is similar to how you use it in English.

  • To state one’s nationality
Il est américain He is American

Please note that nationalities in French are not capitalized unless they are used as a proper noun.

  • To talk about your job/profession
Je suis avocat I am a lawyer

In French, when you talk about your profession you don’t use an article before your profession.

  • Describe a person or a thing
Vous êtes heureuse Mme Martin? Are you happy Miss Martin?

Note that when we are in a formal situation or are speaking to someone that is older than us we generally use “ vous “

Tu es triste Paul? Are you sad Paul?

When we are in an informal situation or when we are speaking to someone our own age we generally use “ tu “.

Pronunciation of Être

In this section on être conjugation in the present tense we will focus on pronunciation.

There are 2 important rules to take into account when we want to pronounce an être conjugation in the present tense.

  • You do not pronounce the last -e in the subject pronoun “ elle “. It is just the “ ell ” part that gets pronounced.
Ell e est She is

After the letter “ l ” you will go straight to the “ e “.

You don’t pronounce the letter in red .

  • If the first letter of the verb is a vowel or a silent “ h “, then you must perform a liaison. This happens in the vous form. This means that the final “ s ” of vous will have a “z” sound.

Please note how the final “ s ” of vous sounds like a “z”.

Example Sentences with an Être Conjugation in the Present Tense

The final section of this lesson on être conjugation in the present tense is about seeing être in action.

This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of être conjugation in the present tense through examples.

Je suis canadien . I am Canadian .
J e suis Mme Martin. I am Miss Martin.
Je suis M Dubois . I am Mr Dubois.
Tu es jeune . You are young.
Il est blond. He is blond.
Il est américain . He is American.
Nous sommes bibliothécaires. We are librarians.
Vous êtes belle . You are beautiful.
Ils sont pharmaciens . They are pharmacists.

Quiz Yourself on Avoir Conjugation in the Present Tense

At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.

You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.

You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.

Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.

You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!

Je canadien. I am Canadian.  

Tu triste Paul? Are you sad Paul?  

Ils pharmaciens. They are pharmacists.  

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There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.

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After you have downloaded Anki for free, you can get our French A1 Anki Deck .

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conjugating the verb essayer

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  • Get To Know Gustar: Learn the Meaning and Conjugation of This Spanish Verb

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If you’re learning Spanish, the verb gustar (to like) may cause confusion because it doesn’t function like other verbs—and it has some specific applications. But no te preocupes (don’t worry), when it comes to learning a language, questions are a good thing. 

This guide to the verb gustar makes it clear what the verb means, how to conjugate it, and when to use it. We’ve also added a complete list of other verbs that work like gustar . Once you get the hang of it, gustar and other similar verbs are actually easier than some other verbs.

Table of Contents

What does gustar mean, and why is it special.

If you look up gustar in the dictionary, the definition probably will be “to like.” While, technically, this is true, there are nuances to its meaning and uses. Gustar means “to like” but mostly when talking about objects or activities. 

A more accurate translation would be “to be pleasing to.” This definition also helps you remember how to use the verb properly. Applying this definition in the following sentence example will get you thinking about proper conjugation:

  • Me gusta la salsa roja . = Red salsa is pleasing to me .

You can translate this example as “I like red salsa,” but thinking of it as “to be pleasing to” helps you remember to conjugate the verb according to the thing that is pleasing and not the person doing the liking. This makes gustar distinct from most other verbs, but there is a whole set of verbs in Spanish that function this way.

Be careful about using gustar with people

Avoid using this verb to talk about people in common social situations because it implies that you feel physically attracted to someone.

When you learn Spanish , you’ll need some appropriate vocabulary to talk about liking friends, colleagues, and comrades in platonic ways. Here are a couple of words you could use instead of gustar : 

  • caerse bien = to get along with
  • agradar = to find pleasant

How to use indirect object pronouns with gustar

When it comes to gustar , these Spanish indirect object pronouns refer to the person who likes the object or activity in the sentence. They are always placed before gustar .

Take a look at all the Spanish indirect object pronouns and when they are used with gustar . Some of these pronouns could have different meanings depending on whether you translate a sentence as “I like red salsa” or “Red salsa is pleasing to me.” Either way, the basic meaning is similar.

first person singular I (me)
second person singular
(informal)
 you 
third person singular
(formal)
 he/she/it/you
(him/her/it/you)
first person plural we (us)
second person plural
(informal)
 you
third person plural
(formal)
 they/you
(them/you)

Conjugating gustar in the third person

Contrary to popular belief, gustar is not a Spanish irregular verb . While formulating a sentence with gustar is distinct from other verbs, the verb itself is generally conjugated like a regular -AR verb . And there’s more good news: There are only two conjugations to worry about for each tense when it comes to gustar —third person singular and third person plural.

Take this example that talks about a person liking something singular and something plural:

  • Le gusta el fútbol . = Soccer is pleasing to him/her.
  • Le gustan los deportes . = Sports are pleasing to him/her.

Notice that the verb conjugation changes according to whether the thing/things being liked is singular or plural, but the indirect object pronoun le remains the same because we are talking about a singular person. There’s some ambiguity in this example since le can mean “him” or “her.” 

Conjugating gustar in different tenses

There are eighteen Spanish verb tenses and three moods (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative). Lucky for you, gustar is not used in many of these tenses or moods. It would be highly unlikely to say, “I will like ice cream in the future” or “Like ice cream now!” 

In general, you’ll need to know how to conjugate gustar in the present tense, preterite tense, and imperfect tense. For the most part, other tenses are only used in advanced grammar situations.

How to conjugate gustar in the preterite tense

Aside from the present tense, the main verb tense used with gustar is the preterite tense in Spanish . This verb tense is used to talk about definitive actions in the past.

For example: 

  • Les gustó la película Roma. = The movie Roma was pleasing to them .
  • Nos gustaron los postres. = The desserts were pleasing to us .

How to conjugate gustar in the imperfect tense

Sometimes the imperfect, a tense used to talk about long-standing or habitual actions in the past, is also employed with gustar .

  • Les gustaban las largas comidas del domingo. = The long Sunday midday meals were pleasing to them .

A formula for using gustar in sentences

This simple formula helps you create present tense sentences with gustar easily.

Indirect object pronoun + gusta (singular) or gustan (plural) + the thing that is liked

Start each sentence with the person doing the liking, then add the correct form of gustar . Finally, add the name of what’s being liked. You can use this formula for any sentence with gustar or similar verbs in the present tense.

Here are a couple of examples:

  • Me gusta el pastel. = Cake is pleasing to me. 
  • Nos gustan las plantas. = Plants are pleasing to us.

Conjugating gustar in the negative or interrogative

Gustar is negated like any other Spanish verb. Just add no before the word to negate it.

  • No te gusta la carne . = Meat is not pleasing to you .

To ask a question with gustar , simply inflect your voice and add question marks.

  • ¿Te gustan los frijoles? = Do you like beans?

Using gustar with infinitives

When talking about activities, it is possible to combine gustar with an infinitive in Spanish . In this case, the verb will always be conjugated in the third person singular.

  • Os gusta correr todos los días. = Running every day is pleasing to you .

This sentence example also has the sense of “You like running every day.”

Use gustar with prepositional pronouns for emphasis or clarity only

Sometimes there can be ambiguity in a sentence with the pronouns le or les because it’s unclear exactly who these indirect object pronouns refer to. But Spanish has a solution for this. Add the preposition a (to) and a prepositional pronoun when you want to clarify who you are talking about or simply want to emphasize that person. 

The prepositional pronouns in Spanish are as follows:

first person singular me
second person singular
(informal)
you 
third person singular
(formal)



(formal)
he/it
she/it
you 
first person plural us
second person plural
(informal)
*you
third person plural
(formal)
(masculine)
(feminine)
(formal)
them
them
you

*used in most of Spain 

  • Le gusta el fútbol a él . = Soccer is pleasing to him .
  • Le gustan los deportes a ella . = Sports are pleasing to her .

These prepositional pronouns can also be used for emphasis:

  • A ti te gusta la bachata, pero a mí me gusta el merengue. = Bachata is pleasing to you , but merengue is pleasing to me .

Other verbs like gustar

Quite a few other verbs function exactly like gustar in terms of sentence structure and conjugation , for instance:

  • Me interesan las películas italianas del siglo XX. = I am interested in 20th century Italian film.

This list below will help you get familiar with other verbs that work just like gustar . The meanings are listed according to when they are used like gustar .

to be bored by
to be pleased by
to be passionate about
to be attracted to
to be enough
to fit
to get along with
to be convenient for
to hurt
to be captivated by (to intensely like)
to surprise, seem odd to
to be missing
to be fascinated by
to be necessary
to be important to
to be interested in
to be bothered by
to seem
to worry about
to remain, to have left
to have extra (of something)
to be responsible for, to be subject to

Using verbs like gustar in a traditional way

It is possible to use these verbs traditionally. Compare this first example when preocupar (to worry) is used like gustar to the second example when it is used with the normal subject + verb + object (SVO) formula:

  • Me preocupa el cambio climático. = I am worried about climate change. (used like gustar )
  • Carlos se preocupa por su madre. = Carlos worries about his mother. (traditional use)

The first example has the sense of “climate change worries me,” while the second example has a clear subject (Carlos) and object (his mother) like most sentences in Spanish.

Key takeaways about the verb gustar

Gustar is a fairly unique verb in Spanish, and learning its nuances will help you talk about all the things you like to do and places you like to visit. 

  • Gustar means “to like” or “to be pleased by.”
  • Gustar is conjugated according to the thing or things being liked, not the person liking them.
  • Use indirect object pronouns to show who is doing the liking.
  • Don’t use gustar to talk about people in everyday social situations.
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conjugating the verb essayer

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how to conjugate essayer past tense

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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  • Pronunciation & Conversation
  • Resources For Teachers

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.

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

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.

Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passé Simple Imperfect Subjunctive
j' essaie
essaye
essaierais
essayerais
essayai essayasse
tu essaies
essayes
essaierais
essayerais
essayas essayasses
il essaie
essaye
essaierait
essayerait
essaya essayât
nous essayions essaierions
essayerions
essayâmes essayassions
vous essayiez essaieriez
essayeriez
essayâtes essayassiez
ils essaient
essayent
essaieraient
essayeraient
essayèrent essayassent

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 ."

Imperative
(tu) essaie
essaye
(nous) essayons
(vous) essayez
  • How to Conjugate "Essuyer" (to Wipe)
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  • Learn How to Conjugate the Verb "Penser" (to Think)
  • Learn How to Conjugate the French Verb "Passer" (to Pass)
  • How to Conjugate the French Verb "Admirer" (to Admire)
  • How to Conjugate the French Irregular Verb 'Écrire' ('to Write')
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  • Comprendre: To Understand
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  • Learn to Conjugate the French Irregular Verb Lire (to Read)
  • French Irregular -RE Verbs
  • Passé composé: French Compound Past Tense
  • How to Conjugate "Louer" (to Rent)
  • How to Conjugate "Influencer" (to Influence) in French
  • Learn the Conjugations for "Présenter" (to Present)

Lawless French

Essayer – to try

French verb conjugations.

 
j’
tu
il
nous
vous
ils
             
 
j’
tu
il
nous
vous
ils
             
   
j’   (tu)  
tu   (nous)  
il   (vous)  
nous      
vous   (tu)
ils   (nous)  
        (vous)    

  Essayer is a stem-changing verb (y to i).

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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.

j'essaye / essaie
tuessayes / essaies
il/elleessaye / essaie
nousessayons
vousessayez
ils/ellesessayent / essaient
j'ai essayé
tuas essayé
il/ellea essayé
nousavons essayé
vousavez essayé
ils/ellesont essayé
j'essayais
tuessayais
il/elleessayait
nousessayions
vousessayiez
ils/ellesessayaient
j'avais essayé
tuavais essayé
il/elleavait essayé
nousavions essayé
vousaviez essayé
ils/ellesavaient essayé
j'essayerai / essaierai
tuessayeras / essaieras
il/elleessayera / essaiera
nousessayerons / essaierons
vousessayerez / essaierez
ils/ellesessayeront / essaieront
j'aurai essayé
tuauras essayé
il/elleaura essayé
nousaurons essayé
vousaurez essayé
ils/ellesauront essayé
j'essayerais / essaierais
tuessayerais / essaierais
il/elleessayerait / essaierait
nousessayerions / essaierions
vousessayeriez / essaieriez
ils/ellesessayeraient / essaieraient
j'aurais essayé
tuaurais essayé
il/elleaurait essayé
nousaurions essayé
vousauriez essayé
ils/ellesauraient essayé
j'essaye / essaie
tuessayes / essaies
il/elleessaye / essaie
nousessayions
vousessayiez
ils/ellesessayent / essaient
j'aie essayé
tuaies essayé
il/elleait essayé
nousayons essayé
vousayez essayé
ils/ellesaient essayé
j'essayai
tuessayas
il/elleessaya
nousessayâmes
vousessayâtes
ils/ellesessayèrent
j'eus essayé
tueus essayé
il/elleeut essayé
nouseûmes essayé
vouseûtes essayé
ils/elleseurent essayé

how to conjugate essayer past tense

  • Conjugation essayer
  • Exercise essayer

Conjugation French verb essayer

Translation essayer, indicatif (indicative), présent (present), passé composé (present perfect), imparfait (imperfect), plus-que-parfait (pluperfect), passé simple (simple past), passé antérieur (past perfect), futur simple (future), futur antérieur (past future), conditionnel (conditional), passé (perfect), subjonctif (subjunctive), passé (past), impératif (imperative), infinitif (infinitive), participe (participle), gérondif (gerund), synonyms for the verb essayer.

exercice

French: essayer

French verb 'essayer' conjugated.

how to conjugate essayer past tense

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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

j'essaie / essaye
tuessaies / essayes
il/elle/onessaie / essaye
nousessayons
vousessayez
ils/ellesessaient / essayent
j'essayais
tuessayais
il/elle/onessayait
nousessayions
vousessayiez
ils/ellesessayaient
j'essayai
tuessayas
il/elle/onessaya
nousessayâmes
vousessayâtes
ils/ellesessayèrent

Futur simple

j'essaierai / essayerai
tuessaieras / essayeras
il/elle/onessaiera / essayera
nousessaierons / essayerons
vousessaierez / essayerez
ils/ellesessaieront / essayeront
j'aiessayé
tuasessayé
il/elle/onaessayé
nousavonsessayé
vousavezessayé
ils/ellesontessayé
j'avaisessayé
tuavaisessayé
il/elle/onavaitessayé
nousavionsessayé
vousaviezessayé
ils/ellesavaientessayé
j'eusessayé
tueusessayé
il/elle/oneutessayé
nouseûmesessayé
vouseûtesessayé
ils/elleseurentessayé
j'auraiessayé
tuaurasessayé
il/elle/onauraessayé
nousauronsessayé
vousaurezessayé
ils/ellesaurontessayé
quej'essaie / essaye
quetuessaies / essayes
qu'il/elle/onessaie / essaye
quenousessayions
quevousessayiez
qu'ils/ellesessaient / essayent
quej'aieessayé
quetuaiesessayé
qu'il/elle/onaitessayé
quenousayonsessayé
quevousayezessayé
qu'ils/ellesaientessayé
quej'essayasse
quetuessayasses
qu'il/elle/onessayât
quenousessayassions
quevousessayassiez
qu'ils/ellesessayassent
quej'eusseessayé
quetueussesessayé
qu'il/elle/oneûtessayé
quenouseussionsessayé
quevouseussiezessayé
qu'ils/elleseussentessayé
j'essayerais / essaierais
tuessayerais / essaierais
il/elle/onessayerait / essaierait
nousessayerions / essaierions
vousessayeriez / essaieriez
ils/ellesessayeraient / essaieraient
j'auraisessayé
tuauraisessayé
il/elle/onauraitessayé
nousaurionsessayé
vousauriezessayé
ils/ellesauraientessayé
essaie / essaye
essayons
essayez
essayer

Participe présent

essayant

Participe passé

essayé(e)

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Lexis Rex Home

Conjugation of the French verb essayer

InfinitiveScored
Scored
j'essayeI try
tu essayesyou try
il essayehe tries
elle essayeshe tries
nous essayonswe try
vous essayezyou try
ils essayentthey try
elles essayentthey try
Scored
j'essayaisI was trying
tu essayaisyou were trying
il essayaithe was trying
elle essayaitshe was trying
nous essayionswe were trying
vous essayiezyou were trying
ils essayaientthey were trying
elles essayaientthey were trying

Scored
j'essayaiI tried
tu essayasyou tried
il essayahe tried
elle essayashe tried
nous essayâmeswe tried
vous essayâtesyou tried
ils essayèrentthey tried
elles essayèrentthey tried
Scored
I have tried
Scored
I had tried
Scored
j'essayeraiI will try
tu essayerasyou will try
il essayerahe will try
elle essayerashe will try
nous essayeronswe will try
vous essayerezyou will try
ils essayerontthey will try
elles essayerontthey will try

is made with the future tense of or and the past participle of the verb. The past participle agrees with the subject for verbs that take , or with the direct object for verbs that take
Scored
I will have tried
Scored
j'essayeraisI would try
tu essayeraisyou would try
il essayeraithe would try
elle essayeraitshe would try
nous essayerionswe would try
vous essayeriezyou would try
ils essayeraientthey would try
elles essayeraientthey would try

is made with the conditional tense of or and the past participle of the verb. The past participle agrees with the subject for verbs that take , or with the direct object for verbs that take
Scored
I would have tried
Scored
j'essaye I try
tu essayes you try
il essaye he tries
elle essaye she tries
nous essayions we try
vous essayiez you try
ils essayent they try
elles essayent they try
Scored
j'essayasse I was trying
tu essayasses you were trying
il essayât he was trying
elle essayât she was trying
nous essayassions we were trying
vous essayassiez you were trying
ils essayassent they were trying
elles essayassent they were trying
ImperativeScored
essaye Try
essayonsLet's try
essayez Try
Present ParticipleScored
essayant trying
Scored
essayé tried
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model for -er verbs:
model for -ir verbs:
model for -re verbs:

- model verb
Verbs that follow
this model:

Firefox and Chrome users: install a shortcut ( or ) then type "conj essayer" in your address bar for the fastest conjugations. It is conjugated like:
essayer
essayant
essayé


présent
j' e, essaye
tu es, essayes
il, elle, on e, essaye
nousessayons
vousessayez
ils, elles ent, essayent
imparfait
j'essayais
tuessayais
il, elle, onessayait
nousessayions
vousessayiez
ils, ellesessayaient
passé simple
j'essayai
tuessayas
il, elle, onessaya
nousessayâmes
vousessayâtes
ils, ellesessayèrent
futur simple
j' erai, essayerai
tu eras, essayeras
il, elle, on era, essayera
nous erons, essayerons
vous erez, essayerez
ils, elles eront, essayeront

formes composées / compound tenses

passé composé
j'ai essayé
tuas essayé
il, elle, ona essayé
nousavons essayé
vousavez essayé
ils, ellesont essayé
plus-que-parfait
j'avais essayé
tuavais essayé
il, elle, onavait essayé
nousavions essayé
vousaviez essayé
ils, ellesavaient essayé
passé antérieur
j'eus essayé
tueus essayé
il, elle, oneut essayé
nouseûmes essayé
vouseûtes essayé
ils, elleseurent essayé
futur antérieur
j'aurai essayé
tuauras essayé
il, elle, onaura essayé
nousaurons essayé
vousaurez essayé
ils, ellesauront essayé
présent
que j' e, essaye
que tu es, essayes
qu'il, elle, on e, essaye
que nousessayions
que vousessayiez
qu'ils, elles ent, essayent
imparfait
que j'essayasse
que tuessayasses
qu'il, elle, onessayât
que nousessayassions
que vousessayassiez
qu'ils, ellesessayassent
passé
que j'aie essayé
que tuaies essayé
qu'il, elle, onait essayé
que nousayons essayé
que vousayez essayé
qu'ils, ellesaient essayé
plus-que-parfait
que j'eusse essayé
que tueusses essayé
qu'il, elle, oneût essayé
que nouseussions essayé
que vouseussiez essayé
qu'ils, elleseussent essayé

conditionnel

présent
j' erais, essayerais
tu erais, essayerais
il, elle, on erait, essayerait
nous erions, essayerions
vous eriez, essayeriez
ils, elles eraient, essayeraient
passé
j'aurais essayé
tuaurais essayé
il, elle, onaurait essayé
nousaurions essayé
vousauriez essayé
ils, ellesauraient essayé
passé II
j'eusse essayé
tueusses essayé
il, elle, oneût essayé
nouseussions essayé
vouseussiez essayé
ils, elleseussent essayé
présent
(tu) e, essaye !
(nous)essayons !
(vous)essayez !
passé
tuaie essayé !
nousayons essayé !
vousayez essayé !

*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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how to conjugate essayer past tense

Verb conjugation Conjugate Essayer (to try, to attempt) in French

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

how to conjugate essayer past tense

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  • Essayer Conjugation

Essayer to try, to attempt

Essayer - indicative.

Présent
j'essaye je n'essaye pas
j'essaie je n'essaie pas
tu essayes tu n'essayes pas
tu essaies tu n'essaies pas
il/elle essaye il/elle n'essaye pas
il/elle essaie il/elle n'essaie pas
nous essayons nous n'essayons pas
vous essayez vous n'essayez pas
ils/elles essayent ils/elles n'essayent pas
ils/elles essaient ils/elles n'essaient pas
Futur
j'essayerai je n'essayerai pas
j'essaierai je n'essaierai pas
tu essayeras tu n'essayeras pas
tu essaieras tu n'essaieras pas
il/elle essayera il/elle n'essayera pas
il/elle essaiera il/elle n'essaiera pas
nous essayerons nous n'essayerons pas
nous essaierons nous n'essaierons pas
vous essayerez vous n'essayerez pas
vous essaierez vous n'essaierez pas
ils/elles essayeront ils/elles n'essayeront pas
ils/elles essaieront ils/elles n'essaieront pas
Imparfait
j'essayais je n'essayais pas
tu essayais tu n'essayais pas
il/elle essayait il/elle n'essayait pas
nous essayions nous n'essayions pas
vous essayiez vous n'essayiez pas
ils/elles essayaient ils/elles n'essayaient pas
Passé Simple
j'essayai je n'essayai pas
tu essayas tu n'essayas pas
il/elle essaya il/elle n'essaya pas
nous essayâmes nous n'essayâmes pas
vous essayâtes vous n'essayâtes pas
ils/elles essayèrent ils/elles n'essayèrent pas

Essayer - Perfect

Passé Composé
Passé Composé
j'ai essayé je n'ai pas essayé
tu as essayé tu n'as pas essayé
il/elle a essayé il/elle n'a pas essayé
nous avons essayé nous n'avons pas essayé
vous avez essayé vous n'avez pas essayé
ils/elles ont essayé ils/elles n'ont pas essayé
Futur Antérieur
Futur Antérieur
j'aurai essayé je n'aurai pas essayé
tu auras essayé tu n'auras pas essayé
il/elle aura essayé il/elle n'aura pas essayé
nous aurons essayé nous n'aurons pas essayé
vous aurez essayé vous n'aurez pas essayé
ils/elles auront essayé ils/elles n'auront pas essayé
Plus-que-parfait
Plus-que-parfait
j'avais essayé je n'avais pas essayé
tu avais essayé tu n'avais pas essayé
il/elle avait essayé il/elle n'avait pas essayé
nous avions essayé nous n'avions pas essayé
vous aviez essayé vous n'aviez pas essayé
ils/elles avaient essayé ils/elles n'avaient pas essayé
Passé Antérieur
Passé Antérieur
j'eus essayé je n'eus pas essayé
tu eus essayé tu n'eus pas essayé
il/elle eut essayé il/elle n'eut pas essayé
nous eûmes essayé nous n'eûmes pas essayé
vous eûtes essayé vous n'eûtes pas essayé
ils/elles eurent essayé ils/elles n'eurent pas essayé

Essayer - Subjunctive

Présent
j'essaye je n'essaye pas
j'essaie je n'essaie pas
tu essayes tu n'essayes pas
tu essaies tu n'essaies pas
il/elle essaye il/elle n'essaye pas
il/elle essaie il/elle n'essaie pas
nous essayions nous n'essayions pas
vous essayiez vous n'essayiez pas
ils/elles essayent ils/elles n'essayent pas
ils/elles essaient ils/elles n'essaient pas
Imparfait
j'essayasse je n'essayasse pas
tu essayasses tu n'essayasses pas
il/elle essayât il/elle n'essayât pas
nous essayassions nous n'essayassions pas
vous essayassiez vous n'essayassiez pas
ils/elles essayassent ils/elles n'essayassent pas
Passé
Passé
j'aie essayé je n'aie pas essayé
tu aies essayé tu n'aies pas essayé
il/elle ait essayé il/elle n'ait pas essayé
nous ayons essayé nous n'ayons pas essayé
vous ayez essayé vous n'ayez pas essayé
ils/elles aient essayé ils/elles n'aient pas essayé
Plus-que-parfait
j'eusse essayé je n'eusse pas essayé
tu eusses essayé tu n'eusses pas essayé
il/elle eût essayé il/elle n'eût pas essayé
nous eussions essayé nous n'eussions pas essayé
vous eussiez essayé vous n'eussiez pas essayé
ils/elles eussent essayé ils/elles n'eussent pas essayé

Essayer - Conditional

Présent
j'essayerais je n'essayerais pas
j'essaierais je n'essaierais pas
tu essayerais tu n'essayerais pas
tu essaierais tu n'essaierais pas
il/elle essayerait il/elle n'essayerait pas
il/elle essaierait il/elle n'essaierait pas
nous essayerions nous n'essayerions pas
nous essaierions nous n'essaierions pas
vous essayeriez vous n'essayeriez pas
vous essaieriez vous n'essaieriez pas
ils/elles essayeraient ils/elles n'essayeraient pas
ils/elles essaieraient ils/elles n'essaieraient pas
Passé 1
Passé 1
j'aurais essayé je n'aurais pas essayé
tu aurais essayé tu n'aurais pas essayé
il/elle aurait essayé il/elle n'aurait pas essayé
nous aurions essayé nous n'aurions pas essayé
vous auriez essayé vous n'auriez pas essayé
ils/elles auraient essayé ils/elles n'auraient pas essayé
Passé 2
Passé 2
j'eusse essayé je n'eusse pas essayé
tu eusses essayé tu n'eusses pas essayé
il/elle eût essayé il/elle n'eût pas essayé
nous eussions essayé nous n'eussions pas essayé
vous eussiez essayé vous n'eussiez pas essayé
ils/elles eussent essayé ils/elles n'eussent pas essayé

Essayer - Imperative (Commands)

Présent
(tu) essaye (tu) n'essaye pas
(tu) essaie (tu) n'essaie pas
(nous) essayons (nous) n'essayons pas
(vous) essayez (vous) n'essayez pas

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Take our quick quiz to start your journey to fluency today, essayer (to try) conjugation, conjugation of essayer, examples of essayer.

Example in FrenchTranslation in English
! - Je dois essayer d'inverser le processus.- I have to try to reverse the process.
" - Ils vont essayer de se débarrasser de toi.- They'll try to get rid of you.
" essayer, c'est savoir et ne pas essayer, c'est essayer de ne pas savoir. ""trying is knowing and not trying is trying not to know."
"A", je suis terrifiée que ces gars avec des armes vont essayer de nous trouver parce que nous avons vu leur putain de champ de cannabis."A," I'm terrified those guys with guns are gonna try and find us because we saw their stupid pot field.
"Alors je vais essayer"/ So I'll try /
! Tu as essayé de nous tuer, mon père et moi.You tried to kill me and our father.
" Hier soir, la veille de la Toussaint, le père Moore a essayé de chasser six démons hors de mon corps."Last night, on Allhallows' Eve Father Moore tried to cast six demons from my body.
" Il a essayé de nous tué."He tried to kill us.
" J'ai essayé de la calmer"*I have tried pacifying her so much*
" On a tout essayé." " On l'a rétrécie, chatouillé sa plus grande peur.""We tried everything-- shrunk her down to size..."
! Tu es celle qui essaye toujours de contrôler les choses.You're the one who's always trying to control things.
" Plus que j'essaye et apaise... ""The more I try and quieten... "
" Plus que j'essaye et j'apaise... ""The more I try and quieten... "
"Cette fois-ci", essaye d'être un peu plus aimable.Let's try the whole thing all over again. Only this time, try to be more cordial.
"Elle essaye de me détruire!""She's trying to destroy me!"
"D'accord, essayons quelques prises sans couper... et donnez-moi des couleurs différentes"."Okay, let's try it a few times without cutting... and show me a few different colors."
"Mais au moins, essayons."But at least let's try it."
"Tiens, essayons ça."Oh, cool, yeah, let's try this!
- Alors essayons.- OK, let's try then.
- Bien, essayons de nouveau.- Now, let's try it again.
! - Vous essayez de nous faire tuer ?- Are you trying to get us killed?
"Désolé, le numéro que vous essayez de joindre n'est pas disponible.""Sorry, the number you are trying to reach is unavailable."
"Enfoirés, si vous essayez de virer la machine,"If you sons of bitches try to remove this typewriter,
"Et bien, essayez toujours de voir la vie comme si vous sortiez d'un tunnel.""Well," he'd say, "always try to see life around you as if you just came out of a tunnel."
"J'ai besoin que vous changiez et essayez de nouvelles choses.""I need you guys to switch it up and try things."
"Des centaines de soldats avaient donné" "leurs vies et membres en essayant de prendre...""Hundreds of soldiers had given their lives and limbs trying to take..."
"J'ai senti Brock essayant de remonter à la surface"."I felt Brock trying to get to the surface."
"Ma vie dans les tranchés se passait à courir..." "de classe en classe essayant d'éviter l'inévitable."My life in the trenches was spent rushing... from class to class, trying to avoid the unavoidable.
"Ok, les gars, essayant encore pour un bébé."Okay, folks, trying again for a baby.
"Ou on mourra en essayant ?""Or die trying?"

More French verbs

Similar but longer, other french verbs with the meaning similar to 'try':, 'try' in different languages.

LanguageVerb(s)LanguageVerb(s)
Afrikaans Albanian
Arabic , Catalan
Danish , Dutch , , ,
English Esperanto , ,
Finnish , German , ,
Greek Hebrew
Hungarian , , Icelandic
Indonesian , , , Italian , , ,
Japanese Latvian ,
Lithuanian , , , , Macedonian , , ,
Malay , Maltese
Norwegian , Persian ,
Polish , , , , , , , , , Portuguese
Quechua Romanian
Russian , , , , , , , Spanish
Swedish , , , Thai
Turkish Vietnamese

French verb "essayer"

  • try (attempt)
  • auxiliary avoir
  • first group
Infinitif Participe présent Participe passé
essayer essayant /e.sɛ.jɑ̃/ essayé /e.sɛ.je/

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  • 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/
  • 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
  • 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/
  • je ai essayé
  • il;elle;on a essayé
  • ils;elles ont essayé
  • je avais essayé
  • il;elle;on avait essayé
  • ils;elles avaient essayé
  • je aurai essayé
  • il;elle;on aura essayé
  • ils;elles auront essayé
  • je eus essayé
  • il;elle;on eut 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
  • il;elle;on eût essayé
  • ils;elles eussent essayé
  • 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
  • il;elle;on aurait essayé
  • ils;elles auraient essayé
  • tu essaye /e.sɛj/; essaie

Other verbs

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how to conjugate essayer past tense

Conjugation of the French Verb "Essayer"

Mappa concettuale.

how to conjugate essayer past tense

Mastering the French verb 'essayer' involves understanding its unique conjugation patterns, such as the optional 'y' to 'i' change in certain forms. This guide covers present, past, imperfect, conditional, and future tenses, as well as the use of the auxiliary verb 'avoir' in compound tenses. It also provides strategies to avoid common errors and enhance memorization of the correct forms, emphasizing the importance of pronunciation in the French language.

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Regular -er Verb with Unique Characteristics

Meaning and usage of "essayer".

"Essayer" is a regular -er verb in French that means 'to try' and has a unique characteristic of changing 'y' to 'i' in certain forms

Optional 'y' to 'i' Change in Certain Tenses

Pronunciation and Spelling Changes

In the singular and third person plural forms of certain tenses, the 'y' in "essayer" may change to an 'i', affecting both pronunciation and spelling

Dual Spelling in First Person Singular Present Tense

The first person singular present tense of "essayer" can be spelled as 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye', highlighting the intricacies of French orthographic conventions

Conjugation Patterns and Usage in Different Tenses

"Essayer" follows regular -er verb conjugation patterns, with the optional 'y' to 'i' change in some forms, and is used to describe actions or states occurring at the moment of speaking

Essential Tenses for Everyday Communication

Present tense conjugation.

The present tense conjugation of "essayer" is similar to that of other regular -er verbs, but with the optional 'y' to 'i' change in some forms

  • Passé Composé

The passé composé, formed with the auxiliary verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', is used to convey completed actions in the past

Imperfect Tense and Other Moods

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense, or imparfait, describes past actions that were ongoing or habitual

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood, expressing doubt, desire, or uncertainty, includes forms like 'que j'essaie' and 'que vous essayiez'

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood, used for hypothetical scenarios, is conjugated as 'j'essayerais' or 'vous essayeriez'

Future and Past Tenses

Future tense.

The future tense of "essayer" is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the infinitive and discusses future events

Plus-Que-Parfait

The plus-que-parfait, a form of the perfect tense, is constructed with the imperfect tense of 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', used for actions that had been completed before another past action

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how to conjugate essayer past tense

In French, the verb 'essayer' translates to '______,' and it belongs to the ______-er verb category.

to try regular

how to conjugate essayer past tense

Optional 'y' to 'i' change in 'essayer'

Occurs in singular forms except nous/vous; 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye'.

how to conjugate essayer past tense

Present tense usage in French

Describes actions/states at the moment of speaking; used daily.

how to conjugate essayer past tense

Dual spelling in French orthography

Some verbs like 'essayer' have two correct spellings; 'essaie' or 'essaye'.

how to conjugate essayer past tense

The ______ tense is used to express completed actions in the past with the verb 'essayer'.

passé composé

Imperfect Tense Usage

Describes ongoing/habitual past actions, sets scene for narratives.

Subjunctive Mood Function

Expresses doubt, desire, uncertainty, used in dependent clauses.

Conditional Mood Application

Used for hypotheticals, polite requests, and future events in the past.

To express future actions in French, 'essayer' changes to 'j'essaierai' for 'I will try', and 'ils/elles essaieront' for 'they will try'.

j'essaierai ils/elles essaieront

Essayer conjugation exception: 'y' to 'i' shift

In certain forms, 'essayer' changes 'y' to 'i' before a silent 'e'.

Essayer 1st person singular present tense: dual spelling

In present tense, 'essayer' can be spelled as 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye'.

In the present tense 'nous' form of 'essayer', it's important to remember the double '______', and to use the correct auxiliary verb in compound tenses.

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What is the unique aspect of the french verb "essayer" in terms of conjugation, how is "essayer" conjugated in the present tense, and what does it signify, how do you form the passé composé with "essayer," and what is its significance, can you describe the use of "essayer" in the imperfect, subjunctive, and conditional moods, what are the future and plus-que-parfait tenses of "essayer" used for, is "essayer" considered a regular or irregular verb, and why, what are some common mistakes when conjugating "essayer" and how can they be avoided, contenuti simili, esplora altre mappe su argomenti simili.

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how to conjugate essayer past tense

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Understanding the Basics of Essayer Conjugation in French

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Present Tense Conjugation of Essayer

Past tense mastery with essayer, exploring the imperfect and conditional forms of essayer, future and perfect tenses in essayer conjugation, regular vs. irregular patterns in essayer conjugation, avoiding common mistakes and tips for conjugating essayer.

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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:

j' /essa eI try
tu essa esyou try (singular informal)
il/elle/on essa ehe/she/one tries
nous essayonswe try
vous essayezyou try (plural formal)
ils/elles essaient/essayentthey try

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:

j'ai essayéI tried
tu as essayéyou tried (singular informal)
il/elle/on a essayéhe/she/one tried
nous avons essayéwe tried
vous avez essayéyou tried (plural formal)
ils/elles ont essayéthey tried

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:

j'essay I was trying
tu essay you were trying (singular informal)
il/elle/on essay he/she/one was trying
nous essay we were trying
vous essay you were trying (plural formal)
ils/elles essay they were trying

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:

que j' /essa eThat I try
que tu essa esThat you try
qu'il/elle/on essa eThat he/she/one tries
que nous essay That we try
que vous essay That you try
qu'ils/elles essaient/essayentThat they try

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:

j'essayer I would try
tu essayer you would try (singular informal)
il/elle/on essayer he/she/one would try
nous essayer We would try
vous essayer You would try (plural formal)
ils/elles essayer They would try

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.

j'essaieraiI will try
tu essaierasyou will try (singular informal)
il/elle/on essaierahe/she/one will try
nous essaieronswe will try
vous essaierezyou will try (plural formal)
ils/elles essaierontthey will try

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.

j'ai essayéI have tried
tu as essayéyou have tried (singular informal)
il/elle/on a essayéhe/she/one has tried
nous avons essayéwe have tried
vous avez essayéyou have tried (plural formal)
ils/elles ont essayéthey have tried

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.

Flashcards in Essayer Conjugation 12

It's important because it's the only tense used to give commands or instructions.

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

Mixing up the conjugation with -er ending verbs

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

The subjunctive mood expresses doubts, wishes, or possibilities, essential when expressing desires or uncertainties about learning.

The past participle 'appris' changes based on the subject's number.

Essayer Conjugation

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Frequently Asked Questions about Essayer Conjugation

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Essayer Conjugation

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Essayer Conjugation

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Verb conjugation of "essayer" in French

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FrenchLearner.com

Essayer – To try

By: Author David Issokson

Posted on Published: January 7, 2024  - Last updated: June 16, 2024

Essayer – To try

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 in French

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

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.

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 learner and speaks over seven 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 lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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Forming And Using The 5 Past Tenses In French: Full Guide

Adrien Renault

  • Read time 16 mins

Forming And Using The 5 Past Tenses In French: Full Guide

The past tense forms in French can be confusing for new learners.

It’s important to learn the rules of each form, and the appropriate contexts to use them in.

This guide will cover the past tense forms in detail, so you can start using them in your spoken and written French.

What are the five past tenses in French?

First of all, let’s actually identify what the five past tenses are in French. They include:

  • The imperfect past tense
  • The compound past tense
  • The past simple
  • The pluperfect past tense
  • The anterior past tense

Each of these past tenses are used for different reasons.

Yes, they’re all past tenses, but there are certain rules that you’ll need to be aware of when forming and using them. Sit tight to find out how.

When is the imperfect past tense used in French?

We use the imperfect past tense to describe an action that occurred repeatedly, frequently or on an ongoing basis in the past.

To understand it as an English speaker, it helps to compare the imperfect past tense to phrases that contain the words “used to” or “would always”.

French writers use the imperfect past tense when they’re narrating a story or describing events that have happened in the past as a sort of commentary.

Examples of when to use the imperfect past tense in French

To clarify and explain which situations the imperfect past tense is used in French, here are three examples.

1. Use the imperfect past tense to describe something habitual that happened in the past

When describing habitual actions in the past, such as hobbies, we use the imperfect past tense in French.

Here’s an example:

Quand elle était enfant, Joséphine dessinait.

2. Use the imperfect past tense to describe actions that happened at the same time in the past

When describing actions that occurred simultaneously in the past, we use the imperfect past tense in French.

This is sometimes indicated by the preposition pendant , which means “during”, or “while”.

Pendant qu’elle dessinait, Joséphine regardait le paysage.

3. Use the imperfect past tense to describe how a person used to be in the past

When describing someone’s characteristics that they had as a child or an action that they did frequently, we use the imperfect past tense to describe them.

This is often accompanied with the word “used to”.

Here are two examples:

Elle parlait beaucoup quand elle était jeune.

Elle avait les cheveux longs, maintenant elle a les cheveux courts.

Which verb endings are used to conjugate the imperfect past tense in French?

The verbs we choose when writing or speaking in the imperfect past tense must be conjugated using particular verb endings that correspond to the subject of the sentence indicated by the personal pronouns , including the ones listed below:

For infinitive verbs ending in -er , choose from these endings:

  • -_ais _(for the pronoun je)
  • _-ais _(for the pronoun tu)
  • -ait (for the pronouns il, elle, on)
  • _-ions _(for the pronoun nous)
  • _-iez _(for the pronoun vous)
  • -aient (for the pronouns ils, elles)

For infinitive verbs ending in -ir , choose from these endings:

  • _-issais _(for the pronoun je)
  • _-issais _(for the pronoun tu)
  • _-issait _(for the pronoun il, elle, on)
  • _-issions _(for the pronoun nous)
  • _-issiez _(for the pronoun vous)
  • _-issaient _(for the pronouns ils, elles)

For infinitive verbs ending in -re , choose from these endings:

  • _-ais _(for the pronoun je)
  • _-ait _(for the pronoun il, elle, on)
  • _-aint _(for the pronouns ils, elles)

Use these verb endings to make different people the subject of the sentence.

For instance, in our example above, Josephine is the subject of the sentence, so we conjugate the verb dessinait using the third person, imperfect past tense, elle , (which has the ending -ait ).

When is the compound past tense used in French?

The compound past tense is used frequently in French to describe an action that happened once in the past and has now been completed.

It is different from the imperfect since it describes actions that are not frequent or habitual. It helps to compare the compound past tense to the English past simple to understand it a little better.

In English, some examples of the past simple tense include “I ate”, “I drank”, “I slept”, and “I wrote”.

All of these actions have finished and belong to the past, and the equivalent past tense in French is the compound past tense, giving us j’ai mange, j’ai bu, j’ai dormi, j’ai écrit .

Here are some examples of the compound past tense in French in action.

1. Describing an action that happened once in the past

If an action only happens once in the past, such as being born, use the compound past tense.

Je suis né à l’été 1991.

2. Describing an action that happened once in the past but is linked to the present

This can be likened to the Spanish preterito perfecto , where you describe a past event that occurs once, but it has consequences in the present or affects the present.

Nous avons tellement mangé que nous ne pouvons pas manger de dessert.

How is the compound past tense formed in French?

We can use a formula to conjugate the compound past tense in French.

It comprises the verbs avoir or étre and the past participle of the main verb. The formula is:

Avoir or être in the present tense or an auxiliary verb + the main verb in the past participle

How to conjugate avoir and être in the present tense

To simplify the process of forming sentences in the compound past tense in French, check the table below to find out how to conjugate avoir and être in the present tense:

Personal pronounAvoir in the present tenseÊtre in the present tense
JeAiSuis
TuAsEs
Il / elle / onAEst
NousAvonsSommes
VousAvezÊtes
Ils / ellesOntSont

Forming the past participle for the compound past tense

Part of forming the compound past tense includes using the past participle, which can be done in different ways depending on the infinitive verb you want to modify.

It can be difficult to remember the rules, but it comes in handy for forming many of the past tenses in French, including the compound past tense, the pluperfect past tense, and the anterior past tense, so refer back to this section to help you.

In French, there are regular verbs and irregular verbs that you can modify to form the past participle.

Let’s first think about how to achieve this with regular verbs.

Forming the past participle with regular -er, -ir and -re verbs

We have divided this part into three sections, regular -er verbs, regular -ir verbs and regular -re verbs.

1. Past participles for -er verbs

For French verbs that end in _-er _in their infinitive form, we form the past participle simply by removing the _-er* and replacing it with *-é_.

For instance, if we’ve got the verb aimer , which ends in an -er in the infinitive form, we would remove the -er and replace it with é, giving us aimé.

2. Past participles for -ir verbs

If we have a French verb that ends in -ir in its infinitive form, we form the past participle by simply removing the -ir and replacing it with an -i .

For example, the verb choisir in its infinitive form ends in an -ir . We remove the -ir and replace it with -i , giving us choisi .

3. Past participles for -re verbs

If we have a French verb that ends in -re in its infinitive form, we form the past participle by removing the -re , and replacing it with a -u .

For instance, the verb vendre in its infinitive form ends in an -re . We remove the -re and replace it with -u , giving us vendu .

Now, this is only for regular verbs. There are different rules for irregular verbs. Let’s have a look at them.

Forming the past participle with irregular French verbs

Since it can be very difficult to remember the rules, you can use verb conjugation tools to help you remember the past participle of irregular French verbs, but we have put together a list of rules to help you remember the past participle forms for many of them.

With some irregular verbs, you can replace their endings with a -u to form the past participle, some of which are:

French irregular verbPast participle form
TenirTenu
SavoirSu
BoireBu
CourirCouru
LireLu
VivreVécu
VoirVu
RecevoirReçu

With other irregular verbs, you can replace their endings with a -t , which will give you the past participle.

Some examples of verbs like these include:

French irregular verbPast participle form
ConstruireConstruit
ÉcrireÉcrit
FaireFait
TraduireTraduit
DireDit
CraindreCrant

Other irregular verbs require you to replace their endings with an -is to form the past participle.

Take a look at the table below for some examples of these verbs:

French irregular verbPast participle form
ApprendreAppris
ComprendreCompris
PrendrePris
PromettrePromis

There are irregular verbs that require you to replace their endings with an -ert , which will give you the past participle, such as the ones below:

French irregular verbPast participle form
OffrirOffert
OuvrirOuvert
SouffrirSouffert

Some other irregular verbs don’t follow precise patterns, so you will need to remember them on your own, or use a conjugator tool to keep it fresh in your memory.

These include:

French irregular verbPast participle form
ÊtreÉté
MourirMort
Naître

When is the past simple used in French?

The past simple is used in French to refer to an action that takes place once in the past.

The action that the past simple describes is always complete or has finished.

Using the past simple tense in French: examples

Let’s take a look at the main scenarios in which you would use the past simple in French.

1. Use the past simple to describe an action that occurs once and has been completed

If the action is not repeated in the past and has finished now, use the past simple in French.

The past simple is often accompanied with words that mark the time of the action, such as hier or l’année dernière .

Hier, mangeai une pomme.

2. Use the past simple to talk about several actions that have interrupted a previous action

If there are several actions that have occurred and they interrupt an action, or caused it to stop happening in the past, use the simple past tense. It helps to think about this past tense as if you’re telling a story as an author would, and something happens suddenly, interrupting another past action.

Je nettoyais ma chambre quand le téléphone a sonna.

How are the past simple in French and the compound past tense different?

The main difference between the simple and compound past tenses in French is that the simple past tense is used in written French, whereas the compound past tense is used in spoken French.

To put it another way, it is best to use the compound past tense when speaking, and the simple past when writing.

How is the past simple formed in French?

When using the past simple in French, the verb you use must be selected from the past simple conjugations and the right ending must be added to the infinitive verb.

If you are conjugating an infinitive verb in the past simple that ends in er, choose from the following endings:

  • -ai (for the pronoun je )
  • - as (for the pronoun tu )
  • - a (for the pronoun il, elle, on )
  • - âmes (for the pronoun nous )
  • - âtes (for the pronoun vous )
  • - érent (for the pronouns ils, elles )

If you are conjugating an infinitive verb in the past simple that ends in ir , choose from the following endings:

  • - is (for the pronoun je )
  • - is (for the pronoun tu )
  • - it (for the pronoun il, elle, on )
  • - îmes (for the pronoun nous )
  • - îtes (for the pronoun vous )
  • - irent (for the pronounss ils, elles )

If you are conjugating an infinitive verb in the past simple that ends in re , choose from the following endings:

  • - irent (for the pronoun ils, elles )

When is the pluperfect past tense used in French?

In French, we use the pluperfect when an event happened before another action in the past.

For this reason, we use the pluperfect tense with other past tenses in French, including the past simple or the compound past tense. We normally use it to describe a story or tell an anecdote.

How to use the pluperfect past tense in French: an example

For example, if you know an author who is writing a novel, someone might explain that it took a lot of practice for them to perfect the writing process.

To say this, they could use the pluperfect past tense:

Il avait beaucoup écrit avant de pouvoir écrire le livre.

How is the pluperfect past tense formed in French?

We form the pluperfect past tense in French by combining avoir and être in the imperfect tense with a main verb in its past participle form.

You can use the following formula to help you remember the pluperfect past tense in French:

Avoir or être in the imperfect tense + the main verb in the past participle

So, here’s how to form the verbs avoir and être in the imperfect tense to help you form the pluperfect:

Personal pronounAvoir in imperfect tenseÊtre in imperfect tense
JeAvaisÉtais
TuAvaisÉtais
Il / elle / onAvaitÉtait
NousAvionsÉtions
VousAviezÉtiez
Ils / ellesAvaientÉtaient

How is the pluperfect past tense formed with negative sentences?

If you’re writing a negative sentence in the pluperfect past tense, always remember that the main verb in the past participle form should follow the negation and come after the word pas .

How is the pluperfect past tense formed for negative sentences that contain reflexive verbs?

If you’re writing a negative sentence in the pluperfect past tense that contains a reflexive verb, keep in mind that you must place the reflexive pronoun in between the first part of the negation – after the word ne – and before the main verb in its auxiliary form.

When is the anterior past tense used in French?

Although the anterior past tense is not used frequently in French, and you’ll only really notice it being used in literary books or in literature, it is used in the same situations as the pluperfect.

It describes an event that takes place before another event in the past.

Sentences that use this past tense will always contain two actions.

You will notice that the anterior past tense in French is indicated where one of the conjunctions appear in the dependent clause of a sentence:

  • Aussitôt que

How to use the anterior past tense: an example

Here is an example of how the anterior past tense is used in French:

Lorsqu’il eut reçu la bonne nouvelle, il a décidé de dire aux voisins.

Notice that there are two events in this example – receiving good news and telling the neighbours.

There’s also the conjunction lorsque , which signals that the anterior past tense will be used in the sentence.

How is the pluperfect past tense different from the anterior past tense in French?

Although they use similar constructs, the anterior past tense is used in formal writing or in texts that are formal, whereas the pluperfect is used in speech.

How is the anterior past tense formed in French?

We form the anterior past tense in French by using the past simple of the verb avoir or être , combined with the past participle of a main verb.

The formula for this is:

Avoir / être in past simple + the main verb in past participle

So, as you can see, forming sentences in the anterior past tense in French requires knowledge of how to conjugate avoir and être in the past simple tense.

Here’s how to do it:

Personal pronounAvoir in past simpleÊtre in past simple
JeEusFus
TuEusFis
Il / elle / onEutFit
NousEûmesFumes
VousEûtesFûtes
Ils / ellesEurentFurent

Confidently describe events in the past in French by forming the French past tenses

As you can see, there’s a lot to cover when learning past tenses in French.

Practising a little bit every day will give you the confidence you need to accurately describe events in the past in French.

Did I miss anything?

Comment below.

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Irregular Verbs in French and How to Conjugate Them

Learn the usage and conjugation of the most commonly used french irregular verbs., i want to learn....

There are two types of verbs in French - regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a set, regular pattern. The patterns exist not only in the present tense but also in other tenses where the verb is used. Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow a pattern. Their final letters do not determine what conjugated endings they’ll receive.

In this article, we will focus on French irregular verbs. These verbs need to be memorized because even though there are far more regular verbs than irregular ones, irregular verbs are some of the most important and common verbs in the French language .

Let’s dive into the world of irregular verbs and find some ways to learn them.

Expand your French language skills today!

french irregular verbs busuu

Master the use of irregular verbs with Busuu’s free online lessons and grammar reviews - so you can speak like a local in real-life situations. Whether it's for work, study, or pure enjoyment, Busuu has got you covered.

The most used irregular verbs in French

Did you know that there are four irregular French verbs that are used in daily life? These common irregular verbs are:

  • être - to be
  • aller - to go
  • avoir - to have
  • faire - to make, to do

french irregular verbs busuu

Let's learn how these verbs are conjugated.

être – to be

Singular Plural
Tu es Vous êtes
Je suis Nous sommes
il est ils sont
Elle est Elles sont

aller – to go

Singular Plural
Je vais Nous allons
Tu vas Vous allez
il va ils vont
Elle va Elles vont

avoir – to have

Singular Plural
J’ai Nous avons
Tu as Vous avez
il a Ils ont
Elle a Elles ont

faire – to make, to do

Singular Plural
Je fais Nous faisons
Tu fais Vous faites
il fait ils font
Elle fait Elles font

Let's learn how to conjugate irregular French verbs that follow certain patterns

Some irregular verbs follow patterns, so once you know these patterns, it’s easier to identify and conjugate irregular verbs.

Verbs ending in – prendre are all conjugated like prendre :

Pendre - to take

Singular Plural
Je prends Nous prenons
Tu prends Vous prenez
Il prend Ils prennent
Elle prend Elles prennent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like Prendre -

  • apprendre – to learn
  • comprendre – to understand
  • entreprendre – to undertake
  • méprendre – to mistake
  • prendre – to take
  • reprendre – to retake, to take again
  • surprendre – to surprise

Mettre and the verbs ending in – mettre all follow the same pattern of conjugation .

Mettre - to put

Singular Plural
Je mets Nous mettons
Tu mets Vous mettez
Il met Ils mettent
Elle met Elles mettent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like Mettre -

  • admettre – to admit
  • commettre – to commit
  • compromettre – to compromise
  • mettre – to put, to place
  • permettre – to permit
  • promettre – to promise
  • remettre – to turn in work, to postpone
  • soumettre – to submit
  • transmettre – to transmit

Venir and the verbs that end with - nir have their own pattern of conjugation, and in this case, the verb undergoes a stem change. The stem vien is used with je, tu, il, elle ; the stem ven is used with nous and vous; the stem vien is used with ils and elles respectively.

Venir - to come

Singular Plural
Je viens Nous venons
Tu viens Vous venez
Il vient Ils viennent
Elle vient Elles viennent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like venir -

  • abstenir – to refrain, to abstain from
  • advenir – to happen
  • appartenir – to belong to
  • circonvenir – to circumvent
  • contenir – to contain
  • convenir – to suit, to be suitable
  • détenir – to detain
  • devenir – to become
  • entretenir – to look after, to support
  • intervenir – to intervene
  • maintenir – to maintain
  • obtenir – to obtain
  • parvenir – to reach, to achieve
  • prévenir – to warn
  • retenir – to retain
  • soutenir – to support
  • souvenir – to remember
  • subvenir – to provide for
  • survenir – to occur, to take place
  • tenir – to hold, to keep
  • venir – to come

Verbs ending in - ger have a spelling change in the nous form of the verb. An extra -e is added to keep the -g sound soft.

Manger - to eat

Singular Plural
Je mange Nous mangeons
Tu manges Vous mangez
Il mange Ils mangent
Elle mange Elles mangent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like Manger -

  • bouger – to move
  • changer – to change
  • corriger – to correct
  • décourager – to discourage
  • déménager – to move
  • déranger – to disturb
  • diriger – to direct
  • encourager – to encourage
  • engager – to bind
  • exiger – to demand
  • juger – to judge
  • loger – to lodge
  • manger – to eat
  • mélanger – to mix
  • nager – to swim
  • obliger – to oblige
  • partager – to share
  • rédiger – to write
  • voyager – to travel

Verbs like lancer that end in - cer also have a spelling change in the nous form. The -c is changed to a -ç to maintain a soft -c sound.

Lancer - to throw

Singular Plural
Je lance Nous lançons
Tu lances Vous lancez
Il lance Ils lancent
Elle lance Elles lancent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like Lancer -

  • annoncer – to announce
  • avancer – to advance
  • commencer – to commence
  • dénoncer – to denounce
  • divorcer – to divorce
  • effacer – to erase
  • lancer – to throw
  • menacer – to threaten
  • placer – to put
  • prononcer – to pronounce
  • remplacer – to replace
  • renoncer – to renounce

Verbs ending in - yer change the -y to an -i in the je, tu, il, elle, ils and elles forms.

Payer - to pay

Singular Plural
Je paie Nous payons
Tu paies Vous payez
Il paie Ils paient
Elle paie Elles paient

Similar verbs that are conjugated like payer -

  • aboyer – to bark
  • balayer – to sweep
  • effrayer – to frighten
  • s’ennuyer – to be bored
  • envoyer – to send
  • essayer – to try
  • essuyer – to wipe
  • nettoyer – to clean
  • payer – to pay
  • renvoyer – to send back, to fire

Some verbs, like acheter , change the -e in the root to -è in the je, tu, il, elle, ils and elles forms.

Acheter - to buy

Singular Plural
J’ achète Nous achetons
Tu achètes Vous achetez
Il achète Ils achètent
Elle achète Elles achètent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like acheter -

  • acheter – to buy
  • amener – to bring
  • enlever – to take off
  • espérer – to hope
  • geler – to freeze
  • se lever – to get up
  • posséder – to own
  • préférer – to prefer
  • se promener – to take a stroll
  • répéter – to repeat
  • suggérer – to suggest

Some French verbs that end in - eler and - eter double the l or t in all except nous and vous in the present tense. Example: appeler –> appel/appell -er (to call)

Appeler - to call

Singular Plural
J’ appelle Nous appelons
Tu appelles Vous appelez
Il appelle Ils appellent
Elle appelle Elles appellent

Similar verbs that are conjugated like appeler -

  • appeler – to call
  • épeler – to spell out
  • étinceler – to sparkle
  • feuilleter – to leaf through a book
  • jeter – to jump
  • renouveler – to renew

Ready to put your new French grammar skills into practice?

french irregular verbs busuu

With Busuu's free online courses and grammar reviews, you can easily practice French and get helpful feedback from native French speakers in the Busuu Community.

How to conjugate irregular French verbs that don’t follow a specific pattern

Most irregular French verbs don’t follow any specific pattern and therefore, have to be memorized.

So, let’s learn a few of them.

dire – to say, to tell

Singular Plural
Je dis Nous disons
Tu dis Vous dites
il dit Ils disent
Elle dit Elles disent

lire - to read

Singular Plural
Je lis Nous lisons
Tu lis Vous lisez
il lit Ils lisent
Elle lit Elles lisent

pouvoir – to be able to do

Singular Plural
Je peux Nous pouvons
Tu peux Vous pouvez
Il peut Ils peuvent
Elle peut Elles peuvent

savoir – to know, to know how to

Singular Plural
Je sais Nous savons
Tu sais Vous savez
Il sait Ils savent
Elle sait Elles savent

voir – to see

Singular Plural
Je vois Nous voyons
Tu vois Vous voyez
Il voit Ils voient
Elle voit Elles voient

vouloir – to want

Singular Plural
Je veux Nous voulons
Tu veux Vous voulez
Il veut Ils veulent
Elle veut Elles veulent

Ready to learn more irregular verbs?

Try Busuu today! Our free online courses will help you speak like a local, and teach you essential French grammar and vocabulary you can use for work, study, travel or fun!

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Verbs like 'essayer': why do they have two conjugations?

Please view: http://www.wordreference.com/conj/FrVerbs.aspx?v=essayer

My friend explained it has to do with older French and modern French, I think. And he mentioned something about people who live in the countryside tend to use the 'y' form more. I just wanted to understand this a bit better. Merci en avance !

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How to form simple past verbs in english and when to use them.

How to form simple past verbs in English and when to use them

English may not have as many verb forms as other languages you know—but those few forms come with a lot of complications!

The simple past is no different: There is a lot to learn, from irregular verbs to forming questions and negative sentences. Plus you have to understand the difference between the simple past and other tenses.

Here's everything you need to know about how to form the simple past in English, how it's pronounced, and when to use it!

In this post:

When is the simple past used, how do you form the simple past.

Verbs with irregular simple past forms

Negation of simple past

Questions in the simple past, pronunciation of the simple past, simple past vs. simple present perfect.

In English, the simple past is used to talk about things that started and ended in the past. For example:

  • I called my mom last night.
  • We played basketball yesterday.
  • They went to the store two days ago.

Most commonly, the simple past follows a simple formula:

For example: 

BASE VERB SIMPLE PAST EXAMPLE
talk talk Amy to her girlfriend on the phone yesterday.
watch watch Last month, they a lot of scary movies.
ask ask I two questions.

However, If the base form of a regular verb already ends with an -e , you only need to add a -d for the past:

BASE VERB SIMPLE PAST EXAMPLE
use us We your pen.
die di Lucy's cat yesterday.
bake bak Vikram a big cake.

If the base form of a regular verb ends with a consonant followed by a -y , change the -y to -i and then add -ed :

BASE VERB SIMPLE PAST EXAMPLE
try tri I the soup.
marry marri She my brother.
hurry hurri They to the car.

Finally, if the base form of a regular verb ends with consonant-vowel-consonant, you usually double the last consonant and then add -ed:

BASE VERB SIMPLE PAST EXAMPLE
plan pla We the party.
stop sto Junior the movie.
wag wa The dog its tail.

Past forms of irregular verbs

One of the tricky parts of the simple past is that there are many irregular verbs, for which the past form of the verb does not follow the regular -ed pattern. Some common irregular verbs and their past tense forms include:

BASE VERB SIMPLE PAST EXAMPLE
bring brought Zari and Lily the cake.
buy bought Lucy a new coat.
can could She walk fast.
come came They to the house.
do did I my homework.
drink drank Junior the milk.
eat ate We at the restaurant.
find found They their car.
go went It in that box.
have had The dress two buttons.
think thought Eddy he was lost.

In addition to the irregular verbs above, the verb to be is also irregular. I and he/she/it take the past form was , while you , we , you (plural) and they all take the past form were:

SIMPLE PAST EXAMPLE
I I thirsty last night.
you (singular) You at school last week.
he/she/it It so hot yesterday!
you (plural) You all so great in that play last year.
they They at Grandma’s house two days ago.

To form negative sentences in the simple past, add the words did not before the base form of the verb. Did not is also often written as the contraction didn’t :

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE NEGATIVE WITH CONTRACTION
I the movie. I watch the movie. I watch the movie.
They in the house. They in the house. They in the house.
He new shoes. He new shoes. He new shoes.

You can ask questions using the simple past. Usually with questions in this tense, you add the word did . However, you don’t need to add did for questions using was or were . Here are the most common types of questions and resources to study them more:

Yes/no questions

Q: Did you close the door? A: Yes, I closed the door.

Q: Was Zari excited? A: Yes, Zari was definitely excited.

Wh- questions

Q: Where did they watch the movie? A: They watched the movie at home.

Q: When was Oscar in Italy? A: He was in Italy last year for an art symposium?

Tag questions

You didn’t buy more cheese, did you? She didn’t lose her keys, did she?

The -ed at the end of regular verbs in the simple past is pronounced differently depending on the last sound in the base verb. (Remember to think about the last sound and not the last letter !)

If the base form of the verb ends with a voiceless sound (this means you don’t vibrate your vocal folds), the -ed is pronounced as “t.” Voiceless sounds include "p," "f," "s," "sh," "ch," and "k." For example, the -ed at the end of pushed, watched, and kissed are all pronounced “t.”

If the base form of the verb ends with a voiced sound (this means you vibrate your vocal folds), the -ed is pronounced as “d. ” Voiced sounds include all vowel sounds as well as "b," "m," "w," "v," "th" (as in the ), "z," "r," "y" (as in you ), "n," and "g." For example, the -ed at the end of played , loved , and rained are all pronounced “d.”

Finally, if the base form of the verb ends with the sound “d” or “t,” the -ed is pronounced as its own syllable, “id.” For example, the -ed at the end of decided , hosted , and pretended are all pronounced “id.”

The simple past isn't the only way to talk about events in the past in English—there's also the simple present perfect.

So how do you know when to use one form or the other?

Meanwhile, the simple present perfect (have/has + past participle) is used for events that started in the past but have some connection to the present (perhaps they’re still continuing today, might happen again, or are affecting something in the present).

Depending on which one you use, the meaning of your sentence will change:

Simple past Simple present perfect
Example I watch the show every day for ten years. I watch the show every day for ten years.
Implies The action started in the past and is finished. The action started in the past and continues now.
Meaning You don’t watch the show anymore. You still watch the show.
Simple past Simple present perfect
Example They at the restaurant three times. They eat at the restaurant three times.
Implies The action happened in the past and may not happen again in the future. The action happened in the past and may happen again in the future.
Meaning Perhaps the restaurant closed, so they know they won’t return. They might eat at the restaurant again.
Simple past Simple present perfect
Example I spill coffee on my shirt, so I chang my clothes! I spill coffee on my shirt, so I need to change my clothes!
Implies The action happened in the past and is now complete. The action happened in the past and is affecting the present.
Meaning The spilling of the coffee caused you to have to do something in the past. The spilling of the coffee is still affecting what you have to do now.

Keywords to look for

There are certain words that often appear with the simple past and others that more commonly appear with the simple present perfect. These signal words are great clues to help you know which tense works best with your sentence.

Simple past signal words

  • two days ago
  • two weeks ago
  • two months ago
  • two years ago

Simple present perfect signal words

Irregular verbs: past and past participle forms

In general, learning the past and past participle forms of irregular verbs will help you be a confident English speaker! Use the following table to help you:

BASE VERB PAST PAST PARTICIPLE
be was/were been
become became become
begin began begun
bite bit bitten
break broke broken
bring brought brought
build built built
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feel felt felt
find found found
fly flew flown
get got got or gotten
go went gone
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
lend lent lent
lie lay lain
lose lost lost
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
shake shook shaken
sing sang sung
sink sank or sunk sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
speak spoke spoken
steal stole stolen
swim swam swum
take took taken
tell told told
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written

Make the simple past simple to learn!

Maybe in the past 😉 you were confused about the simple past, but with practice and this handy guide, you will be a simple past star! ⭐

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  • Get To Know Gustar: Learn the Meaning and Conjugation of This Spanish Verb

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If you’re learning Spanish, the verb gustar (to like) may cause confusion because it doesn’t function like other verbs—and it has some specific applications. But no te preocupes (don’t worry), when it comes to learning a language, questions are a good thing. 

This guide to the verb gustar makes it clear what the verb means, how to conjugate it, and when to use it. We’ve also added a complete list of other verbs that work like gustar . Once you get the hang of it, gustar and other similar verbs are actually easier than some other verbs.

Table of Contents

What does gustar mean, and why is it special.

If you look up gustar in the dictionary, the definition probably will be “to like.” While, technically, this is true, there are nuances to its meaning and uses. Gustar means “to like” but mostly when talking about objects or activities. 

A more accurate translation would be “to be pleasing to.” This definition also helps you remember how to use the verb properly. Applying this definition in the following sentence example will get you thinking about proper conjugation:

  • Me gusta la salsa roja . = Red salsa is pleasing to me .

You can translate this example as “I like red salsa,” but thinking of it as “to be pleasing to” helps you remember to conjugate the verb according to the thing that is pleasing and not the person doing the liking. This makes gustar distinct from most other verbs, but there is a whole set of verbs in Spanish that function this way.

Be careful about using gustar with people

Avoid using this verb to talk about people in common social situations because it implies that you feel physically attracted to someone.

When you learn Spanish , you’ll need some appropriate vocabulary to talk about liking friends, colleagues, and comrades in platonic ways. Here are a couple of words you could use instead of gustar : 

  • caerse bien = to get along with
  • agradar = to find pleasant

How to use indirect object pronouns with gustar

When it comes to gustar , these Spanish indirect object pronouns refer to the person who likes the object or activity in the sentence. They are always placed before gustar .

Take a look at all the Spanish indirect object pronouns and when they are used with gustar . Some of these pronouns could have different meanings depending on whether you translate a sentence as “I like red salsa” or “Red salsa is pleasing to me.” Either way, the basic meaning is similar.

first person singular I (me)
second person singular
(informal)
 you 
third person singular
(formal)
 he/she/it/you
(him/her/it/you)
first person plural we (us)
second person plural
(informal)
 you
third person plural
(formal)
 they/you
(them/you)

Conjugating gustar in the third person

Contrary to popular belief, gustar is not a Spanish irregular verb . While formulating a sentence with gustar is distinct from other verbs, the verb itself is generally conjugated like a regular -AR verb . And there’s more good news: There are only two conjugations to worry about for each tense when it comes to gustar —third person singular and third person plural.

Take this example that talks about a person liking something singular and something plural:

  • Le gusta el fútbol . = Soccer is pleasing to him/her.
  • Le gustan los deportes . = Sports are pleasing to him/her.

Notice that the verb conjugation changes according to whether the thing/things being liked is singular or plural, but the indirect object pronoun le remains the same because we are talking about a singular person. There’s some ambiguity in this example since le can mean “him” or “her.” 

Conjugating gustar in different tenses

There are eighteen Spanish verb tenses and three moods (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative). Lucky for you, gustar is not used in many of these tenses or moods. It would be highly unlikely to say, “I will like ice cream in the future” or “Like ice cream now!” 

In general, you’ll need to know how to conjugate gustar in the present tense, preterite tense, and imperfect tense. For the most part, other tenses are only used in advanced grammar situations.

How to conjugate gustar in the preterite tense

Aside from the present tense, the main verb tense used with gustar is the preterite tense in Spanish . This verb tense is used to talk about definitive actions in the past.

  • Les gustó la película Roma. = The movie Roma was pleasing to them .
  • Nos gustaron los postres. = The desserts were pleasing to us .

How to conjugate gustar in the imperfect tense

Sometimes the imperfect, a tense used to talk about long-standing or habitual actions in the past, is also employed with gustar .

  • Les gustaban las largas comidas del domingo. = The long Sunday midday meals were pleasing to them .

A formula for using gustar in sentences

This simple formula helps you create present tense sentences with gustar easily.

Indirect object pronoun + gusta (singular) or gustan (plural) + the thing that is liked

Start each sentence with the person doing the liking, then add the correct form of gustar . Finally, add the name of what’s being liked. You can use this formula for any sentence with gustar or similar verbs in the present tense.

Here are a couple of examples:

  • Me gusta el pastel. = Cake is pleasing to me. 
  • Nos gustan las plantas. = Plants are pleasing to us.

Conjugating gustar in the negative or interrogative

Gustar is negated like any other Spanish verb. Just add no before the word to negate it.

  • No te gusta la carne . = Meat is not pleasing to you .

To ask a question with gustar , simply inflect your voice and add question marks.

  • ¿Te gustan los frijoles? = Do you like beans?

Using gustar with infinitives

When talking about activities, it is possible to combine gustar with an infinitive in Spanish . In this case, the verb will always be conjugated in the third person singular.

  • Os gusta correr todos los días. = Running every day is pleasing to you .

This sentence example also has the sense of “You like running every day.”

Use gustar with prepositional pronouns for emphasis or clarity only

Sometimes there can be ambiguity in a sentence with the pronouns le or les because it’s unclear exactly who these indirect object pronouns refer to. But Spanish has a solution for this. Add the preposition a (to) and a prepositional pronoun when you want to clarify who you are talking about or simply want to emphasize that person. 

The prepositional pronouns in Spanish are as follows:

first person singular me
second person singular
(informal)
you 
third person singular
(formal)



(formal)
he/it
she/it
you 
first person plural us
second person plural
(informal)
*you
third person plural
(formal)
(masculine)
(feminine)
(formal)
them
them
you

*used in most of Spain 

  • Le gusta el fútbol a él . = Soccer is pleasing to him .
  • Le gustan los deportes a ella . = Sports are pleasing to her .

These prepositional pronouns can also be used for emphasis:

  • A ti te gusta la bachata, pero a mí me gusta el merengue. = Bachata is pleasing to you , but merengue is pleasing to me .

Other verbs like gustar

Quite a few other verbs function exactly like gustar in terms of sentence structure and conjugation , for instance:

  • Me interesan las películas italianas del siglo XX. = I am interested in 20th century Italian film.

This list below will help you get familiar with other verbs that work just like gustar . The meanings are listed according to when they are used like gustar .

to be bored by
to be pleased by
to be passionate about
to be attracted to
to be enough
to fit
to get along with
to be convenient for
to hurt
to be captivated by (to intensely like)
to surprise, seem odd to
to be missing
to be fascinated by
to be necessary
to be important to
to be interested in
to be bothered by
to seem
to worry about
to remain, to have left
to have extra (of something)
to be responsible for, to be subject to

Using verbs like gustar in a traditional way

It is possible to use these verbs traditionally. Compare this first example when preocupar (to worry) is used like gustar to the second example when it is used with the normal subject + verb + object (SVO) formula:

  • Me preocupa el cambio climático. = I am worried about climate change. (used like gustar )
  • Carlos se preocupa por su madre. = Carlos worries about his mother. (traditional use)

The first example has the sense of “climate change worries me,” while the second example has a clear subject (Carlos) and object (his mother) like most sentences in Spanish.

Key takeaways about the verb gustar

Gustar is a fairly unique verb in Spanish, and learning its nuances will help you talk about all the things you like to do and places you like to visit. 

  • Gustar means “to like” or “to be pleased by.”
  • Gustar is conjugated according to the thing or things being liked, not the person liking them.
  • Use indirect object pronouns to show who is doing the liking.
  • Don’t use gustar to talk about people in everyday social situations.
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Rowena Galavitz

Rowena Galavitz is a Spanish translator, bilingual copy editor, and language and literature instructor with three master’s degrees. She loves Spanish and all things Mexico.

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COMMENTS

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