Essayer Conjugation in French: Full Charts, Rules & Pronunciation Guide

The French verb essayer translates to "to try," "to test," or "to attempt." It is one of the most frequently used verbs in everyday French conversation. While it is classified as a regular first-group verb ending in -er, it features a unique spelling variation involving the letters Y and I that often puzzles French learners.

In this comprehensive guide from my-french.com, you will find clear conjugation charts for every major tense, an explanation of the modern spelling conventions, and practical examples to elevate your conversational fluency.

The Fundamental Rule: The "Y" to "I" Stem Change

Verbs ending in -ayer (such as essayer, payer, and balayer) possess a special grammatical flexibility. Whenever the stem is followed by a silent "e" sound (-e, -es, -ent, -erai, -erais), you have two grammatically correct choices:

1. The Modern Form (Y becomes I): j'essaie, tu essaies, ils essaient, j'essaierai. This spelling represents standard contemporary French and closely mirrors how native speakers pronounce the word.

2. The Traditional Form (Keeping the Y): j'essaye, tu essayes, ils essayent, j'essayerai. This spelling remains valid and accepted by the Académie française.

Important: When the ending is vocalized and pronounced with stress (nous essayons, vous essayez, j'essayais), the letter Y is mandatory.

Indicative Mood: The Core Tenses

Present Tense (Présent de l'indicatif)

Use the present tense for current actions, facts, and habitual activities.

Compound Past (Passé Composé)

Subject Pronoun Preferred Form Alternative Form English Translation
Je j'essaie j'essaye I try / I am trying
Tu tu essaies tu essayes you try (informal)
Il / Elle / On il essaie il essaye he / she / one tries
Nous nous essayons nous essayons we try
Vous vous essayez vous essayez you try (formal/plural)
Ils / Elles ils essaient ils essayent they try

The passé composé expresses completed past actions. It uses the auxiliary verb avoir combined with the invariant past participle essayé.

  • J'ai essayé – I tried / I have tried
  • Tu as essayé – You tried
  • Il / Elle / On a essayé – He / She / One tried
  • Nous avons essayé – We tried
  • Vous avez essayé – You tried
  • Ils / Elles ont essayé – They tried

Example: « J'ai essayé cette nouvelle recette de crêpes hier soir. » (I tried this new crêpe recipe yesterday evening.)

Imperfect (Imparfait)

The imperfect tense describes continuous, ongoing, or habitual actions in the past. Note that the stem always preserves the y.

  • J'essayais (I used to try / I was trying)
  • Tu essayais
  • Il essayait
  • Nous essayions (Notice the double -yi- sequence)
  • Vous essayiez
  • Ils essayaient

    • Simple Future (Futur Simple)

Used for scheduled actions or predictions. Both i and y spellings are correct.

  • J'essaierai (or j'essayerai) – I will try
  • Tu essaieras – You will try
  • Il essaiera – He will try
  • Nous essaierons – We will try
  • Vous essaierez – You will try
  • Ils essaieront – They will try

    • Conditional & Subjunctive Moods

    Present Conditional (Conditionnel Présent)

Used for polite requests, wishes, or hypothetical situations conditional upon another event.

  • J'essaierais (or j'essayerais) – I would try
  • Tu essaierais – You would try
  • Il essaierait – He would try
  • Nous essaierions – We would try
  • Vous essaieriez – You would try
  • Ils essaieraient – They would try

Example: « Si j'avais le temps, j'essaierais d'apprendre le piano. » (If I had time, I would try to learn the piano.)

Present Subjunctive (Subjonctif Présent)

Required after conjunctions like il faut que or expressions of necessity, doubt, and emotion.

  • Que j'essaie (or que j'essaye)
  • Que tu essaies
  • Qu'il essaie
  • Que nous essayions
  • Que vous essayiez
  • Qu'ils essaient

    • Imperative Mood (Impératif)

Used to give advice, instructions, or commands directly:

  • Essaie ! / Essaye ! – Try! (informal singular)
  • Essayons ! – Let's try!
  • Essayez ! – Try! (formal/plural)

    • Essential Sentence Structures & Prepositions

To speak authentic French, mastering prepositions associated with essayer is vital:

1. Essayer de + Infinitive: Always use the preposition de before another verb. Avoid the common English mistake of using à.

  • Correct: « J'essaie de dormir. » (I am trying to sleep.)
  • Incorrect: « J'essaie à dormir. »

2. Essayer + Direct Object: Testing a product, tasting food, or trying on garments.

  • Example: « Tu veux essayer ma nouvelle voiture ? » (Do you want to test-drive my new car?)
  • Example: « Elle essaie une robe rouge en cabine. » (She is trying on a red dress in the fitting room.)

3. S'essayer à + Noun / Verb: A reflexive construction meaning to try one's hand at a craft or skill.

  • Example: « Il s'essaye à la cuisine italienne. » (He is trying his hand at Italian cooking.)

    • Summary Recommendation for Learners

When writing in French, our recommendation is to stick to the modern form featuring I before silent endings (j'essaie, tu essaies, j'essaierai). It matches modern pronunciation patterns and streamlines your study routine. Practice writing a few sentences of your own today to cement these conjugation patterns into your long-term memory!