προσπαθώ is the ordinary verb for making an effort or attempting an action. English spreads this meaning over try to, try and, attempt, and make an effort; Greek normally brings them together as προσπαθώ να.
Principal parts
| Slot | Form |
|---|---|
| Present | προσπαθώ, προσπαθείς, προσπαθεί, προσπαθούμε, προσπαθείτε, προσπαθούν(ε) |
| Imperfect | προσπαθούσα |
| Aorist | προσπάθησα |
| Dependent | προσπαθήσω |
| Perfective imperative | προσπάθησε / προσπαθήστε |
| Imperfective imperative | does not exist; use να προσπαθείς / να προσπαθείτε |
| Perfect | έχω προσπαθήσει |
| Mediopassive | does not exist |
| -μένος participle | does not exist |
This verb has one Class Β2 present: there is no parallel προσπαθάω set. Its perfective stem is regular προσπαθησ-, giving the bounded command Προσπάθησε! Neutral Standard Greek has no present-stem imperative for this lexeme, so internal or standing encouragement uses να προσπαθείς. That is a fact about προσπαθώ, not a general Β2 gap: wavering οδηγώ/οδηγάω has live οδήγα.
Προσπάθησα να σου τηλεφωνήσω, αλλά δεν είχα σήμα.
prospáthisa na su tilefoníso, alá dhen ícha síma
I tried to call you, but I had no signal.
Προσπαθούσα όλο το πρωί να ανοίξω το αρχείο.
prospathúsa ólo to proí na aníkso to archío
I kept trying all morning to open the file.
The imperfect is often the natural form for “kept trying” because it views the effort as continuing rather than reaching a boundary.
Effort or experiment?
Use προσπαθώ as the neutral choice when the subject exerts effort toward an action. Use δοκιμάζω when someone tastes, tests, samples, or tries on an item. δοκιμάζω can also take a να-clause when an action is being tried as an experiment or one possible tactic; the contrast is effort versus trial, not a ban on δοκιμάζω να. English try hides both distinctions.
Δοκίμασε να κλείσεις και να ανοίξεις ξανά την εφαρμογή.
dhokímase na klísis ke na aníksis ksaná tin efarmoyí
Try closing and reopening the app.
Προσπαθώ να μάθω ελληνικά, αλλά χρειάζομαι περισσότερη εξάσκηση.
prospathó na mátho eliniká, alá chriázome perisóteri eksáskisi
I'm trying to learn Greek, but I need more practice.
Δοκίμασε το σακάκι να δεις αν σου κάνει.
dhokímase to sakáki na dhis an su káni
Try the jacket on and see whether it fits you.
Δοκίμασα το κρασί και μου φάνηκε πολύ γλυκό.
dhokímasa to krasí ke mu fánike polí ghlikó
I tried the wine and found it too sweet.
Government
The characteristic frame is προσπαθώ να + verb. The ending of the second verb identifies who performs the attempted action, just as it does after other verbs that take να-clauses. για + accusative instead names a goal or cause, not an attempted action.
Προσπαθεί να τελειώσει τη δουλειά πριν από τις έξι.
prospathí na teliósi ti dhuliá prin apó tis éksi
She's trying to finish the work before six.
Προσπαθούμε για το καλύτερο, αλλά δεν εξαρτώνται όλα από εμάς.
prospathúme ya to kalítero, alá dhen eksartónde óla apó emás
We're striving for the best, but not everything depends on us.
Which aspect follows να depends on viewpoint: perfective packages a bounded attempt or finite series, while imperfective opens an internal process or an open policy. The full choice belongs to aspect after να.
Set phrases
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Προσπάθησε! | Try! / Make an effort! |
| προσπαθώ όσο μπορώ | try as hard as I can |
| κάνω μια προσπάθεια | make an attempt |
| αξίζει η προσπάθεια | it is worth the effort |
| μάταια προσπάθησα | I tried in vain (neutral written) |
| με πολλή προσπάθεια | with great effort |
Προσπάθησε άλλη μία φορά και θα τα καταφέρεις.
prospáthise áli mía forá ke tha ta kataféris
Try once more and you'll manage it.
Common Mistakes
The most revealing mistake is treating the thing tested as an object of the effort verb.
❌ Προσπάθησε το κρασί, είναι πολύ καλό.
Incorrect — tasting or sampling takes δοκιμάζω, not προσπαθώ.
✅ Δοκίμασε το κρασί· το έφερε ένας φίλος από τη Νεμέα.
dhokímase to krasí; to éfere énas fílos apó ti Neméa
Try the wine; a friend brought it from Nemea.
Key Takeaways
- προσπαθώ, προσπαθούσα, προσπάθησα, να προσπαθήσω, προσπάθησε, έχω προσπαθήσει.
- The core frame is προσπαθώ να + verb; για + accusative names a goal.
- προσπαθώ foregrounds effort; δοκιμάζω foregrounds a test or trial and can also introduce one tactic with να.
- There is no imperfective imperative, mediopassive or -μένος participle; standing encouragement uses να προσπαθείς.
Now practice Greek
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- μπορώ (can/to be able)A2 — The model Class Β2 verb: -ώ, -είς, -εί all the way down, with no -άω doublet, an aorist μπόρεσα in the small -εσ- group, and neither an imperative nor a mediopassive paradigm in current Standard Greek. Plus the two things only this card carries — Δεν τον μπορώ ('I can't stand him') and the health reading of bare Δεν μπορώ.
- δοκιμάζω (to try/taste)B1 — Greek's sampling verb — taste, try on, test, give it a go — always with a real object, which is what separates it from προσπαθώ. Full forms plus the second life of the mediopassive: δοκιμάζομαι, to be sorely tried.
- να After Modal VerbsA2 — The everyday frame [modal + να + verb] — θέλω να, μπορώ να, πρέπει να, ξέρω να, πάω να, αρχίζω να — where the second verb is person-marked and personal main verbs conjugate too.
- Present Tense: Class Β2 (μπορώ)A2 — The full present of the pure Β2 anchor μπορώ — μπορώ, μπορείς, μπορεί, μπορούμε, μπορείτε, μπορούν — and the -ώ/-είς/-εί set also used by θεωρώ and καλώ. Some lexical verbs additionally waver into a live -άω set, notably οδηγώ/οδηγάω and προχωρώ/προχωράω, so the paradigm and a verb's complete inventory must be kept distinct.
- Principal Parts: Complete IndexA2 — A consolidated index of the principal parts of 151 frequent Modern Greek verbs, including defective and register-limited paradigms.