Skip to content
fluentbyear

FRENCH VERB

tenter

to try, to attempt

  • #481 most used
  • Regular -er verb
  • Past participle: tenté
  • Present participle: tentant

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Présent · now, habits and facts

  1. je I try
  2. tu you try
  3. il, elle, on he/she tries
  4. nous we try
  5. vous you try
  6. ils, elles they try

Past

Passé composé · finished actions

  1. je I tried
  2. tu you tried
  3. il, elle, on he/she tried
  4. nous we tried
  5. vous you tried
  6. ils, elles they tried

Imperfect

Imparfait · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. je I used to try
  2. tu you used to try
  3. il, elle, on he/she used to try
  4. nous we used to try
  5. vous you used to try
  6. ils, elles they used to try

Future

Futur simple · plans; in speech, “je vais parler” is just as common

  1. je I will try
  2. tu you will try
  3. il, elle, on he/she will try
  4. nous we will try
  5. vous you will try
  6. ils, elles they will try

Conditional

Conditionnel · “would”, polite requests

  1. je I would try
  2. tu you would try
  3. il, elle, on he/she would try
  4. nous we would try
  5. vous you would try
  6. ils, elles they would try

Present subjunctive

Subjonctif présent · wishes, doubts, “il faut que …”

  1. je (that) I try
  2. tu (that) you try
  3. il, elle, on (that) he/she try
  4. nous (that) we try
  5. vous (that) you try
  6. ils, elles (that) they try

Imperative

Impératif · requests and orders

  1. tu try!
  2. nous try! (let’s)
  3. vous try! (plural, or formal)

How to use tenter

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Un petit resto italien ce soir, ça vous tente ?

    A little Italian restaurant tonight, do you fancy it?

  2. Past

    J'ai tenté de l'appeler trois fois, sans succès.

    I tried calling him three times, with no luck.

  3. Imperfect

    Il tentait toujours de payer l'addition pour tout le monde.

    He was always trying to pay the bill for everyone.

  4. Future

    On tentera le sommet demain si le temps le permet.

    We'll attempt the summit tomorrow if the weather allows.

  5. Conditional

    Une glace au bord de l'eau, ça te tenterait ?

    An ice cream by the water, would you fancy that?

  6. Present subjunctive

    C'est bien que tu tentes ta chance, on ne sait jamais.

    It's good you're trying your luck, you never know.

  7. Imperative

    Tente le coup, au pire il dira non.

    Give it a shot, at worst he'll say no.

Good to know

  • Ça te tente ? is a very common do you fancy it?
  • Tenter sa chance is to try one's luck; tenter le coup, to give it a shot.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -er verb.