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SPANISH VERB

intentar

to try

  • #85 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: intentando
  • Past participle: intentado

Conjugation

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

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I try
  2. tú you try
  3. usted, él, ella he/she tries
  4. nosotros we try
  5. vosotros Spain you all try
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they try

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I tried
  2. tú you tried
  3. usted, él, ella he/she tried
  4. nosotros we tried
  5. vosotros Spain you all tried
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they tried

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to try
  2. tú you used to try
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to try
  4. nosotros we used to try
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to try
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to try

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will try
  2. tú you will try
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will try
  4. nosotros we will try
  5. vosotros Spain you all will try
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will try

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would try
  2. tú you would try
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would try
  4. nosotros we would try
  5. vosotros Spain you all would try
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would try

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I try
  2. tú (that) you try
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she try
  4. nosotros (that) we try
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all try
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they try

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I tried
  2. tú (if) you tried
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she tried
  4. nosotros (if) we tried
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all tried
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they tried

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú try!
  2. usted try! (formal)
  3. nosotros try! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain try! (all of you)
  5. ustedes try! (all of you)

How to use intentar

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

  1. Present

    Intento comer menos azúcar, pero es difícil.

    I'm trying to eat less sugar, but it's hard.

  2. Past

    Intenté llamarte anoche, pero no contestaste.

    I tried to call you last night, but you didn't answer.

  3. Imperfect

    Cada verano intentábamos aprender a surfear.

    Every summer we would try to learn to surf.

  4. Future

    Intentaré llegar antes de que empiece la película.

    I'll try to arrive before the movie starts.

  5. Conditional

    Yo intentaría hablar con ella una vez más.

    I would try talking to her one more time.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Me alegra que intentes cosas nuevas este año.

    I'm glad you're trying new things this year.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Mi entrenador quería que intentara el salto otra vez.

    My coach wanted me to try the jump again.

  8. Imperative

    ¡Inténtalo otra vez, casi lo logras!

    Try it again, you almost did it!

Good to know

  • "Intentar" takes no preposition: intenté llamarte. "Tratar de" means the same.

Where you hear intentar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 1

  • Intento hablar español todos los días. I try to speak Spanish every day.
  • Intenté negociar el precio. I tried to negotiate the price.
  • Voy a intentarlo otra vez. I'm going to try it again.

Spanish · Intermediate Level 3

  • Intento hablar con mi mamá cada domingo. I try to talk to my mom every Sunday.
  • Intenté no mirar, pero me desmayé. I tried not to look, but I fainted.
  • Mañana vamos a intentar otra vez. Tomorrow we're going to try again.
16
Even If It's Expensive

Intermediate Level 1 · intentarlo

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Even If You Step on My Feet

Intermediate Level 3 · por mucho que lo intentes

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Verbs like this one

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