Try And… vs Try To…
Don’t worry… It will be after I’m done explaining it. 😉
An Explanation
“I’m going to try and explain this to you, so that it makes sense.”
– vs. –
“I’m going to try to explain this to you, so that it makes sense.”
“Okay. So what’s the problem?!?!? Both of those sound good to me! I hear people say it both ways all the time!”
“Try To + Explain”
“Try + To Explain”
Some Examples
If One Were To Say…
“I’m going to try and explain this to you, so that it makes sense.”
…then that would mean that there are two things happening:
First — “I’m going to try…” (to explain)
And Then — “I’m going to explain…”
Wait. What?!?!?! How Does That Work?
The Problem With This Is — First Of All…
TRYING IS NOT DOING!!!
(And in this situation — “trying” is only ATTEMPTING to do something. While “Explaining” is ACTUALLY doing something… Therefore — it makes no logical sense.)
But More Importantly…
1. If the person is not confident that he or she will actually be ABLE to explain whatever he or she is trying to explain — then the sentence should say:
“I’m going to try to explain this to you, and hopefully it will make sense.”
2. If the person is confident that he or she will be able to explain it — then the use of “try” is either redundant — or it is a second action which is missing either a gerund, an infinitive verb + “to”, or a noun / noun phrase which represents some new experience or “thing” that one is going to “try”.
“I’m going to try jumping out of this plane.” — (Gerund)
“I’m going to try to jump this gap on my bike.” — (Infinitive + “to”)
“I’d like to try some of that delicious looking cake over there.” — (Noun Phrase)
“I think I’ll try some milk.” — (Noun)
“And then… After all of that… I’m going to explain this to you so that it makes sense.”
“I’m going to try to explain this to you.”
And that’s all there is to it… You’re Welcome.
😎
But On A More Philosophical (yet simpler) Note…
Remember What Master Yoda Said To Luke In The Swamp…
“There Is No And… Only To”
~ “The Teacher”
May The Force — (and the comprehension of proper English Grammar) — Be With You… Always
Have An Excellent Day!
😉
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If you substitute the word “attempt” for “try,” it will be clear which usage is correct. For example, no one says “I am going to attempt and explain this to you.”
Hello Nancy,
Thanks for your comment. That’s a good idea for how to illustrate the point.
Have An Excellent Day
I’ve always thought we used “to try and” because it simply sounds better than “to try to.”
Hello Cathy,
Thanks for the message.
It is definitely true that in the spoken form, most people do say “…try and…” (more like “…try’n…”) – However, whether this sounds “better” or not is subjective – and there are no “rules” about saying things just because they sound better. That is just a product of common usage, but the majority of people doing something wrong, does not make it “correct” (no matter what the dictionary “says”).
The point of the article was to show that, even though “…try and…” is very common, it is grammatically wrong. And though it has become acceptable to use “…try’n…” when speaking (most people wouldn’t even notice it) – it should not be used in the written form (unless it is quoted dialogue). This is what many people (myself included) would call “poor form”.
Thanks for stopping by.
Have An Excellent Day!