[Grammar] Try [to = Inf.] or [ing]?

[saloom2]

Hello everyone,

I had tried playing football before the tuition.

I had tried to play football before the tuition.

which one is correct and why? and If both are correct, what is the difference?

 

[5jj]

I had tried playing football before the [STRIKE]tuition[/STRIKE]lesson/tutorial.

I had tried to play football before the [STRIKE]tuition[/STRIKE]lesson/tutorial.

In the first, the speaker had actually played football (to see what the result was.)

In the second, the speaker had attempted to play football. S/he had probably not actually played; only context will make this absolutely clear.

 

[saloom2]

well, I understand the second one now, but I don't actually understand the first one. If he had already played, why would we have added tried? we should have said I had played without try? Right? Could you make it a little bit clearer, please?

 

[5jj]

If you try doing something, you do it to see if the situation changes. Compare:

Situation: The room was stuffy.

1. I tried opening the window, but it made no difference. - I opened the window to see if that would make the room less stuffy. It didn't.

2. I tried to open the window, but it was stuck. - My attempts to open the window were not successful. I did not manage to open the window.

 

[taked4700]

Excuse my curiosity.

Does "I tried opening the window." mean the speaker wanted something to occur by opening the window? If so, the sentence below would be unidiomatic, wouldn't it?

Before taking the football class, you should try playing football a bit to see if you are interested in it.

In this context, try doing is used to mean to perform it actually but only in a short time or just a little bit to see whether it does good or bad.

I wonder if this interpretation is correct or not.

Thanks in advance.

 

[5jj]

Excuse my curiosity.

Does "I tried opening the window." mean the speaker wanted something to occur by opening the window? If so, the sentence below would be unidiomatic, wouldn't it?

Before taking the football class, you should try playing football a bit to see if you are interested in it.

In this context, try doing is used to mean to perform it actually but only in a short time or just a little bit to see whether it does good or bad.

I wonder if this interpretation is correct or not.

Your sentence is fine. 'Try doing' does not necessarily mean that you should do it only for a short time.