try to V / Ving (American English)

[sitifan]

1. I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold. (quoted from Practical English Usage)
2. I tried changing the wheel, but my hands were too cold. (quoted from Practical English Usage)

Michael Swan, the author of Practical English Usage, says both sentences are acceptable in British English.

I know #1 is acceptable in American English. Is #2 also acceptable in American English?

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes.

 

[GoesStation]

They don't always mean the same thing, though.

I tried to change the wheel: I attempted to change the wheel.
I tried changing the wheel: I changed the wheel to test whether it would solve my problem. I might have tried other solutions.

 

[jutfrank]

They have different meanings, so it's not merely a question of acceptability. Neither does this have anything to do with American English.

 

[sitifan]

They have different meanings, so it's not merely a question of acceptability. Neither does this have anything to do with American English.

To talk about something to see what will happen, we use try + -ing.
I tried sending her flowers, writing her letters, giving her presents, but she still wouldn't speak to me.
To talk about making an effort to do something difficult, we can use either try + infinitive or try + -ing.
I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold. (OR I tried changing the wheel ...)
[quoted from Practical English Usage]

 

[jutfrank]

To talk about making an effort to do something difficult, we can use either try + infinitive or try + -ing.
I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold. (OR I tried changing the wheel ...)
[quoted from Practical English Usage]

For the record, I disagree with Swan on that. I think he's got it wrong.

In the sentence I tried changing the wheel, but my hands were cold, the verb try is used in the sense of testing a course of action (as described by GoesStation in post #3). Any implication of effort or failure to achieve success comes from the context, which is why it's a poor example.

 

[Tdol]

For the record, I disagree with Swan on that. I think he's got it wrong..

Heresy. Mind you, Swan may not be firing on all cylinders on that one. ;-)

 

[PaulMatthews]

To talk about something to see what will happen, we use try + -ing.
I tried sending her flowers, writing her letters, giving her presents, but she still wouldn't speak to me.
To talk about making an effort to do something difficult, we can use either try + infinitive or try + -ing.
I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold. (OR I tried changing the wheel ...)
[quoted from Practical English Usage]

I don't think I quite agree with Swan. Compare:

[1] I tried sending her flowers but she still wouldn't speak to me.
[2] I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold.

In [1] "tried" means "tested the effectiveness of", while in [2] it means "endeavoured".