حاولت أمس أن أفتح البرنامج القديم، لكنني لم أنجح.

Because حاولت means I tried. In the Arabic past tense, the first-person singular takes the ending ـتُ.

• base form: حاولَ = he tried
• حاولتُ = I tried

In normal Arabic writing, the short vowel ـُ is usually not written, so you see حاولت.

حاول is a Form III verb from the root ح-و-ل. In this sentence it means to try or to attempt.

A learner does not always need to know the form right away, but it helps because Form III often has a recognizable pattern: فاعَلَ. Here:

• حاوَلَ = he tried
• يُحاوِلُ = he tries / is trying
• محاولة = attempt

Because أمس is a fixed adverb meaning yesterday. It usually appears by itself, without الـ.

So:

• أمس = yesterday

It is functioning as a time word, not as an ordinary noun phrase like the yesterday.

After verbs like try, Arabic often uses أن + present verb to express the action being attempted.

So:

• حاولت أن أفتح... = I tried to open...

This is very similar to English to open after tried.

Because after حاولت, Arabic normally uses أن + present tense to express the intended or attempted action.

So:

• حاولت أن أفتح = I tried to open
• not حاولت فتحت for this meaning

Even though the whole sentence is about the past, the verb after أن is still in the present form, because that is the normal grammar pattern after أن here.

Yes. أن normally puts the following present-tense verb into the subjunctive.

In this sentence, the fully vocalized form would be:

• أن أفتحَ

The final ـَ is usually not written in normal text, so you just see أفتح. That means the spelling looks the same, but the grammatical case/mood is different.

Because in Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• البرنامج القديم = the old program

This is the normal Arabic order:

• noun first
• adjective second

Unlike English, which says old program.

Because Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun in definiteness as well as gender and number.

Here:

• البرنامج = the program
• القديم = the old

Since the noun is definite with الـ, the adjective must also be definite with الـ.

Compare:

• برنامج قديم = an old program
• البرنامج القديم = the old program

لكنني means but I or but I, however...

It is made of:

• لكن = but / however
• ني = me / me as an attached pronoun, but here it gives the sense of I

In practice, لكنني is a very common way to say but I... in formal Arabic.

You may also see لكني, which is a common variant.

Because لم + present tense is a standard way in Arabic to negate a past action.

So:

• لم أنجح = I did not succeed

This is one of the most important patterns in Arabic:

• لم
  • present verb in the jussive = past negation

It often sounds more standard and formal in Modern Standard Arabic than some other negative patterns.

That is just how Arabic grammar works with لم.

Even though the meaning is past, لم is followed by a present-tense form that becomes jussive.

So:

• أنجحُ = I succeed / I am succeeding
• لم أنجحْ = I did not succeed

The final sukūn on أنجحْ is usually not written in ordinary text, so you see أنجح.

Both are first-person singular present-tense forms, and both begin with أ for I:

• أفتح = I open / I am opening
• أنجح = I succeed / I am succeeding

That initial أ is a very common marker for I in the present tense.

Yes. They come from the same root: ن-ج-ح, which is connected with success.

For example:

• نجح = to succeed
• ينجح = he succeeds
• أنجح = I succeed
• نجاح = success
• ناجح = successful

Seeing these root relationships is very helpful in Arabic vocabulary learning.

In some contexts, yes, but لم أنجح is the more standard and textbook-style Modern Standard Arabic choice here.

Compare:

• لم أنجح = very standard MSA, formal written style
• ما نجحت = understandable, but often feels less formal or more regional depending on context

So for Modern Standard Arabic, لم أنجح is the safest choice.

A fully vocalized version would be:

حاوَلْتُ أَمْسِ أَنْ أَفْتَحَ البَرْنامَجَ القَديمَ، لٰكِنَّني لَمْ أَنْجَحْ.

In normal writing, most of those short vowels are omitted, so learners usually see:

حاولت أمس أن أفتح البرنامج القديم، لكنني لم أنجح.

It breaks down like this:

• حاولت = I tried
• أمس = yesterday
• أن أفتح البرنامج القديم = to open the old program
• لكنني لم أنجح = but I did not succeed

So the full pattern is:

• main action in the past
• time expression
• أن + present verb for the attempted action
• لكن to introduce contrast
• لم + present to negate a past result