“Try to do”、“try doing”及“try and do”的异同

    

Khubilai

2012/12/09

《Complete PLAIN WORDS》提到：‘They tried to withhold the information from the public’ is not the same as ‘They tried withholding the information from the public’。这两句话到底是什么区别呢？另一个常见说法“Try and do”和两者又是什么关系呢？

“Try to do”指付出一定的努力，看某事能否做到，重点在成败。如：I tried to lift the heavy box.

“Try doing”指看某种方法可否解决问题，重点在试验。如：Tom: “This coffee is too hot.” Mom: “Try putting some ice in it.”

因此，文章开头第一个例句的意思是“他们拼命对公众隐瞒消息【重点在于能否实现，不关心是否还有其它方法】”；第二个例句的意思是“他们想看看能否对公众隐瞒消息【重点在于强调选择一种办法，不关心这一办法是否有难度】”。

再比如，一个女孩想让心仪的男生喜欢自己，但不知道如何获得对方的好感，于是试着给他织一件毛衣。这种情况下要用 “She tried knitting a sweater for him”。如果她知道他爱穿手织毛衣，但她不会，只能边学边织，这种情况下应该用“She tried to knit a sweater for him”。

“Try and do”是“try to do”的口语形式。如：Try and apologize等于try to apologize。

 

参考资料：

The Complete Plain Words, Sir Ernest Gowers, Revised by Sidney Greenham and Janet Whitcut, Penguin Books, 1986.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=74349&langid=22

http://www.englishforums.com/English/TryToDoAndTryDoing/hjbkr/post.htm

http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic32773.html

http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/14164-try-do-something-try-doing-something.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110930165509AAGoa1i

http://www.egeacademy.com/blog/exercises/gerund-infinitive-with-a-change-in-meaning/

http://www.italki.com/answers/question/129596.htm