Lo intenté
/lo intente/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "I tried" is expressed as Lo intenté.
You use this phrase to state that you made an effort to achieve something in the past. Depending on the context and the level of emphasis you want to provide, there are several ways to express this: Intenté is a direct way to say "I tried" using the past tense of the verb *intentar*. If you want to say "I attempted", you can use the synonym traté. For a more formal sense of "I endeavored", use procuré. To express that you exerted yourself or put in significant effort, use Me esforcé. If you want to emphasize that you gave your absolute utmost, you can say Di lo mejor de mí (I gave my best), Hice todo lo posible (I did everything possible) or Hice todo lo que pude (I did everything I could).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Lo intenté literally means "It/that I tried". The word lo is the direct object pronoun meaning "it" or "that", and intenté is the first-person singular preterite form of the verb *intentar*.
Which one should you use?
Lo intenté refers to a specific, completed attempt. In contrast, if you want to describe an ongoing or repeated attempt in the past, you would use Lo intentaba (I was trying / I used to try).
Is it said differently in some regions?
The colloquial expression Le eché ganas is specifically used in Latin America.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb intenté is in the preterite tense, which is used to indicate completed actions in the past.
Did you know?
- If you want to say you tried with intense passion or energy, you might use the colloquialism Le eché ganas, which literally translates to 'I threw desire into it'.
- While intentar and tratar both mean 'to try', tratar can also mean 'to treat' a patient or 'to handle' a situation, which can lead to ambiguity in certain contexts.
- To convey that your attempt involved significant personal strain or struggle, you should use Me esforcé, which is linguistically linked to the word fuerza, meaning 'strength'.
Examples in context
- Lo intenté hacer ayer.I tried to do that yesterday.This sentence shows how to use Lo intenté with an infinitive to say you tried to do something.Tatoeba #7147900 by arh, translation #7146025 by CK
- Lo intenté, pero no lo conseguí.I tried, but I did not succeed.This sentence uses Lo intenté to show the contrast between an attempt and a result.Tatoeba #1641893 by Shishir, translation #1638588 by Spamster
- Lo intenté, pero no pude hacerlo.I tried, but I couldn't do it.This sentence uses Lo intenté to express that you tried but were unable to complete the action.Tatoeba #4960612 by DarkHollow, translation #4497029 by CK
- Lo siento, pero intenté solucionar el problema.I'm sorry, but I tried to solve the problem.
- Hice todo lo posible para terminar el informe a tiempo.I did everything possible to finish the report on time.
- Lamentablemente, hice todo lo que pude para ayudar.Unfortunately, I did everything I could to help.
- ¡Le eché ganas pero no pude ganar el partido!I really tried, but I couldn't win the game!
- Me esforcé mucho en el proyecto, pero no obtuve los resultados esperados.I put a lot of effort into the project, but I didn't get the expected results.
- Di lo mejor de mí para complacerte.I tried my best to please you.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are discussing a difficult puzzle.
- LucíaNo pude terminar el rompecabezas.I couldn't finish the puzzle.
- Alejandro¿Lo intentaste?Did you try it?
- LucíaSí, lo intenté durante horas.Yes, I tried for hours.
- AlejandroNo te preocupes, Lucía.Don't worry, Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
