0
Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Attempt ~ing or to verb?
Here in my country, there is a interesting dispute between English teachers that is whether "attempt" can be followed by gerund, "-ing" like the verb "try" or not. So I really would like to hear great people's thoughts about it. Is it okay to say that He attempted shoplifting or He attempted shoplifting clothing?
Thank you as always and I can't wait to hear from you.
Thank you as always and I can't wait to hear from you.
Top answer
Yest, but it is much rarer to use the gerund than the infinitive. He attempted to shoplift some clothing, but he was caught in the act. It is more used for a generalization.
- Yest, but it is much rarer to use the gerund than the infinitive.
- He attempted to shoplift some clothing, but he was caught in the act.
- It is more used for a generalization.
- Many who attempt climbing Mt.
- Everest die on the way.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
5 Answers
0
Yest, but it is much rarer to use the gerund than the infinitive.
He attempted to shoplift some clothing, but he was caught in the act.
It is more used for a generalization.
Many who attempt climbing Mt. Everest die on the way.
It is useless to attempt explaining Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to people who have never had a science class.
He attempted to shoplift some clothing, but he was caught in the act.
It is more used for a generalization.
Many who attempt climbing Mt. Everest die on the way.
It is useless to attempt explaining Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to people who have never had a science class.
00
For thoe who are interested, the Corpus of Contemporary American English has 93 citations for 'attempt + -ing form'; for 'attempt + to- infinitive, it has ....
.... 18, 548 citations.
.... 18, 548 citations.
00
There is a difference in meaning sometimes. "Try drinking some milk" means you should make the experiment. "Try to drink some milk" means that you might have trouble doing it.
00
enoonThere is a difference in meaning sometimes. "Try drinking some milk" means you should make the experiment. "Try to drink some milk" means that you might have trouble doing it.What is true of the verb TRY is not necessarily true of the verb ATTEMPT.
00
fivejedjon enoonThere is a difference in meaning sometimes. "Try drinking some milk" means you should make the experiment. "Try to drink some milk" means that you might have trouble doing it.What is true of the verb TRY is not necessarily true of the verb ATTEMPT.I read the question wrong. Sorry. Ignore me.
0
Related Questions