French Phrase
Essaie de garder tes mouvements calmes et contrôlés.
Meaning
The sentence is a piece of advice: ‘Try to keep your movements calm and controlled.’ It combines the verb *essayer* with an infinitive and uses two coordinated adjectives to describe the quality of the movements.
When to use
Use this phrase when coaching someone in sports, dance, yoga, or physical therapy, or any situation where you want the person to stay steady and deliberate in their actions.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Essaiedegardertesmouvementscalmesetcontrôlés
Essayer de + infinitif
After the verb *essayer* you use the preposition *de* followed by an infinitive to express ‘try to…’.
Infinitive *garder*
*Garder* means ‘to keep, to maintain’; it stays in the infinitive after *essayer de*.
Possessive adjective *tes*
*Tes* agrees with the noun it modifies (plural, second‑person singular).
Adjective agreement
Both *calmes* and *contrôlés* are plural masculine adjectives and must agree with *mouvements*.
Conjunction *et*
*Et* simply links two adjectives that describe the same noun.
🗨In Conversation
Essaie de garder tes mouvements calmes et contrôlés pendant le tir au but.
Try to keep your movements calm and controlled during the penalty kick.
D'accord, je me concentrerai sur ma respiration.
Okay, I’ll focus on my breathing.
✕Common Mistakes
Essayer à garder tes mouvements calmes.
The verb *essayer* is followed by *de*, not *à*, before an infinitive.
Essaye de garder tes mouvements calme et contrôlé.
Adjectives must agree in number with *mouvements* (plural).
Essaye de garder tes mouvements calmes et contrôlé.
Same agreement issue; use the plural form *contrôlés*.
↔Alternatives
Essaie de maintenir tes mouvements calmes et maîtrisés.
Try to maintain your movements calm and mastered.
Fais en sorte que tes gestes restent calmes et contrôlés.
Make sure your gestures stay calm and controlled.
Veille à garder tes mouvements sereins et bien maîtrisés.
See to it that your movements stay serene and well‑mastered.
Cultural Tip
In French, *essaie de* is informal; in a formal or plural context you would say *essayez de*. Also, French speakers often prefer *maîtriser* or *maintenir* when talking about controlling physical actions, especially in sports or artistic contexts.