# EN: try and + infinitive / try to-infinitive



## Gez

What's exactly the difference between "try and" and "try to"?

I "want" to give them different meanings because my natural reflex is to parse "I will try and do something" as "I will try and I will do something" but I get the feeling the sentence actually means "I will try to do something."

I'm just kinda confused.

Moderator note: three threads on this topic have been merged.


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## FAC13

"try and do" and "try to do" are used interchangeably in my part of the world. 

I suspect "try and" is a bit dodgy grammatically, but that doesn't stop people, including me, using it all the time, even in formal writing.


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## Agnès E.

Bonjour Gez,

Ceci pourra certainement vous aider : Try TO do or try AND do? [ verb + and ]


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## RocketGirl

While it is often used interchangeably, I personally try to stay away from "try and"...  If you break it down, "and" means "as well as" or "in addition" or "also".  So to "try and do something" just sounds funny to me.  In most (if not all) situations, I'd prefer to say "try to".

Now, I've never actually heard from someone "in the know" about this, it's just something I came up with in my own head...


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## Gez

Agnès E. said:


> Ceci pourra certainement vous aider.




Merci !


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## Petrie787

i def agree with fac13. In fact, I almost always use "try and" in informal (and actually even formal) speech as oppsed to "try to". Im from the Midwest US but i am sure that holds true all over and certainly in the US.


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## lexiconnaissance

Tous les deux ont la même signification.  C'est une question de dialecte.


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## mplsray

lexiconnaissance said:


> Tous les deux ont la même signification. C'est une question de dialecte.


 
C'est aussi une question de registre. On peut employer _try and _quand on parle un langage familier standard (parmi les Américains, en tout cas, Informal Standard American English), mais pas dans un langage soutenu (Formal Standard American English).


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## Canard

"try and" is a little more colloquial, I find. I recommend "try to" for more formal/polished situations.


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## Loob

I agree with Canard.  "Try to" is more formal; "try and" more colloquial.

They mean the same thing.

Loob


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## givemeabeach

generally, when it is followed by a verb that it is directly modifying we use "try to" - "try to help" "try to find out",
But a lot of people use "try and" incorrectly in these contexts.

" He would have to try to figure out a way to tell her." is correct.

"try and" is really correct only when "try" is acting as a main verb - "I will definitely try and I'll let you know how I go" - it isn't modifying the verb "let" that follows it.


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## Canard

givemeabeach: I think that's a little prescriptivist since at least for AE, "try and verb" is common and accepted.


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## intstebri

Thank you for your answers, I think I got it now.

I can try and became better with english, but I will try to read a bit more about it before to dream I'm good enough....

thank you!


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## givemeabeach

Canard, you're correct that it's prescriptivist of me to say "try and" is most often "incorrect". But the problem with learning or perfecting a language as an adult, rather than growing up with it, is the difficulty of assessing when one option is appropriate and  when it is not. It's hard to get a feel for a language. 

Many English speakers say "try and", just as many say "would of", but both would be pretty unacceptable in written English, apart from reported speech. Using either in a business or academic translation could  be a  handicap to your career. If someone's asking about the difference between two terms, isn't it important they're aware of these things?


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## orlando09

As a journalist, I am pretty sure that "try and", while very common (and perfectly normal) in speech, is not deemed correct usage in polished writing. Just by looking at it, you can see that it doesn't really make grammatical sense, although it's readily understood.


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## Loob

Totally agree. Canard and I both said earlier that "try and + infinitive" is informal; "try to + infinitive" is more formal/polished.

Loob


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## clamor

Hello
I just read in another thread that constructions such as ''I tried and did it'' are impossible, even in informal speech. But what about ''I try and don't do it''?
Thank you


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## trellis

clamor said:


> I just read in another thread that constructions such as ''I tried and did it'' are impossible, even in informal speech. But what about ''I tried and don't do it''?


It's not impossible - just not good English.
Much better would be - I tried and I succeeded / I tried and I failed


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## clamor

Ok so in an informal context I can say ''I try and don't do it'' to mean ''I try not to do it''?
To make sure I understood


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## trellis

Ok - if you mean to say ''I tried to do it''  then ''I tried and did it''  is wrong.
        if you mean to say ''I tried not to do it''  then ''I tried and don't do it''  is wrong.

When I say 'wrong' I mean the phrase does not say what you want to say.
Also ''I tried and don't do it'' is not good English - almost meaningless....


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## broglet

Je suis d'accord avec trellis. "I try and don't do it" est aussi incompréhensible.


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## clamor

Got it, thank you!
I assume ''he tries and does it'' is the same?
(I know my questions are repetitive  )


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## broglet

tu as raison!

The correct forms are:
(I try)/(he tries) (to do it)/(not to do it)


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## clamor

Merci  Ca confirme ce que je pensais.


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## Hildy1

If you're going to learn just one form, "try to" would be best. It's acceptable both in formal and in casual speech and writing.


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