Try and...
Try and...
(OP)
Why has this saying, rather than "try to" become acceptable? I hear it on TV, radio, etc.
My little test for correctness for this is to change "try" to "trying" to see how ridiculous the sentence sounds.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.





RE: Try and...
RE: Try and...
RE: Try and...
May the force be with you.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
Precisely what I complain about. It is annoying, very annoying.
"Try and try and try..." is the only legitimate way to say it. Sooner or later it would be correct to say "try to...".
I am glad you brought up the topic.
TV people are the worst offenders.
Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
RE: Try and...
Thanks. I cringed the other day when the quite intelligent Dr. Condi Rice said "try and" in her testimony. Yikes!
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
RE: Try and...
It is a colloquialism. I believe it is still grammatically incorrect, however. As Jimbo suggests, what is it that one can try and do? Nothing other than try again. You can only try to do something.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
Aaron Spearin, EIT
ChemE, M.E.
"The only constant in life is change." -Dan Andia; 1999, Chemical Engineering Progress
RE: Try and...
That is acceptable. One certainly can not correctly say "let's see if we are able and..." Try to substitute any of the synonyms for try in a sentence where try precedes and. Sounds equally stupid to me.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
RE: Try and...
I do not know the distinct definition. I have only heard it spoken and do not see how it is correct English other than being accepted as a colloquialism. I am continually striving to improve my grammar and pronunciation. This is one of the colloquialisms I have been able to strike from my speech, so I tend do be sensitized to it.
Dr. Rice's spoken grammar was otherwise quite good, I think. I have no intention of crossing her.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
RE: Try and...
Thanks for your reply. I still, however, hate the way it sounds.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
"Luck is the residue of design."
Branch Rickey
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/try?view=uk
They also feel like Fowler that "try and" is an acceptable spoken colloquialism, but don't appear to think that there is also a slight difference in meaning as Fowler does.
RE: Try and...
I thought of one more appropriate use of "try and...":
Try and fail.
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Try and...
The guy who quoted Yoda was right, "There is no TRY. There is only DO or DO NOT DO.”
SCET - Techmaximus
RE: Try and...
RE: Try and...
Am I too cynical?
SCET - Techmaximus
RE: Try and...
I will try not to nettle you so much next time. Not this time mind you.
In this instance when I say try, I mean make a conscious effort on a scale of 1-10 maybe about 7.5 because it is not extremely important to me. However if you are inspecting my work, I would surely stay as far away from the word try as I could get. More like -- yes sir (in a non-condencsending tone) we'll make it happen. Whatever it takes. Who would be dumb enough to get an inspector on his/her black list?
RE: Try and...
"try and" joins what?
jimbo
No, I will never give up.
Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
RE: Try and...
It's colloquial, it really ought not to be in formal writing, but it's English.
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