Conjugate semi-regular -oyer, -ayer, -uyer verbs in Le Présent (present tense)

To conjugate verbs ending in "-ayer/-oyer/-uyer" in Le Présent tense, you follow the normal conjugation of "-ER" verbs, but the "y" becomes an "i" for "je/tu/il/elle/on/ils/elles"

ESSAYER (to try)

 

j'essaie	I try
tu essaies	You try (one person you know well)
il/elle/on essaie	He/She/We/one/people try
nous essayons	We try
vous essayez	You try (more than 1 person or formal)
ils/elles essaient	They try

ATTENTION: For verbs in -AYER, in spoken French (included written dialogue in a play for example) an alternative version where the "y" is kept for all forms is frequently used (and also pronounced differently):

Note however that the nous and vous forms always take "y".

 

Common -AYER / -OYER / -UYER verbs

essayer (to try)
payer (to pay) 
employer (to use/employ)
envoyer (to send)
nettoyer (to clean)
essuyer (to wipe)