French guides · Verb tables + audio
Essayer: the verb where both spellings are right.
Essayer means “to try”, and it comes with something French almost never offers: a genuine choice. Verbs ending in -ayer may change their y to an i or leave it alone, and both spellings are standard. J’essaie and j’essaye are equally correct; no examiner can mark either wrong.
Présent — with the i, or with the y
The table below uses the i spelling, which is the more common of the two in modern writing. Swap in a y anywhere and the form is still correct: j’essaye, tu essayes, il essaye, ils essayent.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’essaie | I try | |
| tu essaies | you try | |
| il / elle essaie | he / she tries | |
| nous essayons | we try | |
| vous essayez | you try | |
| ils / elles essaient | they try |
Payer and balayer (to sweep) behave the same way. Verbs in -oyer and -uyer — nettoyer, envoyer, ennuyer — have no choice at all: they must swap.
The two spellings are equally valid but mixing them in the same piece of writing looks careless. The i forms are more common in print and in exam papers; the y forms survive comfortably in speech-adjacent writing. Both sound essentially the same.
Essayer de — the preposition is not optional
To try to do something, French inserts de before the infinitive. English has nothing there, which is exactly why it gets dropped.
| French | Means | |
|---|---|---|
| j’essaie de comprendre | I’m trying to understand | de before the infinitive |
| j’essaie cette veste | I’m trying this jacket on | no preposition before a thing |
| essaie encore | try again | |
| ça ne coûte rien d’essayer | it costs nothing to try |
The de is compulsory before an infinitive. It disappears only when what follows is a noun — trying on a garment, tasting a dish — where the verb takes a direct object instead.
For clothes specifically, the reflexive s’essayer is not what you want; the shop phrase is je peux l’essayer ?, “can I try it on?”, and the fitting room is la cabine d’essayage.
Passé composé — essayé
Regular, always with the y: essayé, with avoir. The choice does not reach the participle.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’ai essayé | I tried / have tried | |
| tu as essayé | you tried / have tried | |
| il / elle a essayé | he / she tried / have tried | |
| nous avons essayé | we tried / have tried | |
| vous avez essayé | you tried / have tried | |
| ils / elles ont essayé | they tried / have tried |
Imparfait — y throughout
Built from essayons, so the y stands in every form: j’essayais. And nous essayions keeps both letters, like nous voyions.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’essayais | I used to try / was trying | |
| tu essayais | you used to try / was trying | |
| il / elle essayait | he / she used to try / was trying | |
| nous essayions | we used to try / was trying | |
| vous essayiez | you used to try / was trying | |
| ils / elles essayaient | they used to try / was trying |
Futur and conditionnel — the choice returns
Both j’essaierai and j’essayerai are correct, and unlike envoyer there is nothing irregular hiding here.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’essaierai | I will try | |
| tu essaieras | you will try | |
| il / elle essaiera | he / she will try | |
| nous essaierons | we will try | |
| vous essaierez | you will try | |
| ils / elles essaieront | they will try |
Conditionnel — would try
J’essaierais — or j’essayerais. Common in soft advice: à ta place, j’essaierais.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’essaierais | I would try | |
| tu essaierais | you would try | |
| il / elle essaierait | he / she would try | |
| nous essaierions | we would try | |
| vous essaieriez | you would try | |
| ils / elles essaieraient | they would try |
Subjonctif — the boot
Same shape as the présent, same optional swap.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’essaie | (that) I try | |
| tu essaies | (that) you try | |
| il / elle essaie | (that) he / she try | |
| nous essayions | (that) we try | |
| vous essayiez | (that) you try | |
| ils / elles essaient | (that) they try |
Impératif — give it a go
Essaie ! or essaye !, with no s either way. Essayons — “let’s try”.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| essaie ! | try! (to one person you know) | |
| essayons ! | let’s try! | |
| essayez ! | try! (formal, or to a group) |
Plus-que-parfait — had tried
J’avais essayé.
| French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| j’avais essayé | I had tried | |
| tu avais essayé | you had tried | |
| il / elle avait essayé | he / she had tried | |
| nous avions essayé | we had tried | |
| vous aviez essayé | you had tried | |
| ils / elles avaient essayé | they had tried |
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Quick answers
Essayer, answered.
The questions that come up while you are learning the table.