"Ma femme essaie de dormir."

Translation: My wife is trying to sleep.

[Ronchicago]

Why is the verb "essayer" introduced for the first time (to me) without any explanation?

[helenvee]

Aaargh! Why is there no consistency? So far "essaye" has been accepted three times as a correct alternative here (Yes, I have been having trouble with this lesson) and now it is incorrect and should be" essaie".

[Hohenems]

Both should be accepted. Programs are only as smart as we make them. Flag the issue.

http://french.about.com/od/verb_conjugations/a/essayer.htm

[Sjdps]

But the pronunciation of the words is different and the "essaie" form is what it is pronounced.

[ceagon]

"Ma femme essaye de dormir." should be accepted

[KamilFox]

Why is 'de' before the verb?

[Klaviier]

Why can't I say my woman? Sort of brutish, but absolutely correct.

[eellrraatt]

vertabelle: http://dict.leo.org/frde/index_de.html#/search=essayer&searchLoc=0&resultOrder=basic&multiwordShowSingle=on

[ArnieRoss]

Why "de" dormir?

[Yuujen]

When a verb in its infinitive form follows the verb 'essayer', it requires that 'de' is inserted between the two; it's much like the 'to' in the sentence "My wife is trying to sleep".

[mmarkey]

No, that's wrong. It's not at all like the "to" in "to sleep". That "to" already is part of the infinitive, "to sleep" (dormir). As dannyjmt explained, the "de" goes with the verb "essayer". It has nothing to do with dormir in this case.