J’essaie d’enlever le pli de mon chemisier.

I am trying to remove the crease from my blouse.

Breakdown of J’essaie d’enlever le pli de mon chemisier.

• je: I
• mon: my (before a masculine singular noun)
• de: from
• essayer: to try

Questions & Answers about J’essaie d’enlever le pli de mon chemisier.

Why is it J’essaie and not Je essaie?

Because je is shortened to j’ before a vowel sound.

• je
  • essaie becomes j’essaie
• This is called elision
• French does this often for smoother pronunciation:
  • j’aime
  • j’habite
  • j’ouvre

So J’essaie simply means I am trying.

What form is essaie here?

Essaie is the 1st person singular present tense form of essayer (to try).

So:

• j’essaie = I try / I’m trying
• tu essaies
• il/elle essaie

With essayer, you may also see spellings like j’essaye. Both are accepted in many contexts, but j’essaie is very common.

Why is there a d’ before enlever?