Try doing and try to do something

Question

Hi,

I have came across this sentence, it says," he is trying sell his book online." should there be an infinitve "to" between two verbs?

Also, is it true that "try to do something" means to make an attempt, and "try doing something" means to test something in order to see if it is good?

are they slightly different or they are basically the same? Is it okay to say "i try to call you" or "i try calling you?"

thanks

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Yes, there should be a "to" before the word sell. So you would say, "he is trying to sell his book online."

If you were to say, "Try to do a back-flip" or "Try doing a back-flip", both sentences would would be asking the person to attempt a back-flip. If you wanted to test something in order to see if it is good, you would say "try it out" or simply, "try out."

For example:

"Try out my new basketball."

"Look at my new basketball! Do you want to try it out?"

If you called someone and they did not answer, and then you saw them later you would say: "I tried to call you" or "I tried calling you." If you are telling someone that you will call them later, but you don't know when, you can say: "I will try calling you as soon as I get a chance."

Try doing and try to do something

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