have it a try

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atabitaraf

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Joined
May 19, 2010
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Persian
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Iran
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Iran
1. give it a try.
2. have it a try.
3. get it a try.
Although I found them all in google but I was not sure whether they are all gramatically correct.
I think the first one is correct, that's for sure but 'have' cannot be a double transitive verb.
 
1. give it a try.
2. have it a try.
3. get it a try.
Although I found them all in google but I was not sure whether they are all gramatically correct.
I think the first one is correct, that's for sure but 'have' cannot be a double transitive verb.

Only the first one is correct.
 
You may, however, say "make a try of it", "have a try of it". Or "have a try at it".
 
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You may, however, say "make a try of it", "have a try of it". Or "have a try at it".
The first sounds very unnatural indeed to me; the second sounds wrong; the third is fine.
 
The Google test:

"make a try of it"

"have a try of it".

The variant with "make" is less common, but both phrases exist. Perhaps they are regional to North American English?

PS. The Google test for "have it a try" yields a thousand times more results than "make a try of it", so the phrase obviously exists. I am a little surprised at its frequency! Let me add that the two best choices are definitely the "give it a try" Bhaisahab's endorsed, and "have a try at it". I would also suggest the simple "try it".
 
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The Google test:
The number of hits on google proves nothing at all about the acceptability of an expression. I have just googled "I is getting bored" and got 420,000 hits.
 
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Give it a try.
Have a try.
Have a try at it.

I wouldn't use any other variant (except "Have a go at it" but that doesn't fit the original question, even though it's perfectly acceptable and means the same thing in the right context).
 
To 5jj:If I may disagree a little
icon_smile.gif
... I think when gauging the existence of an idiom, frequency is everything. Style or even level of speech is quite another matter. Did you use quotes for the phrase, by the way? "I is getting bored" is unacceptable standard English, but as a phrase has 23 results. In several of these the irony is obviously intentional even if exasperating.
 
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To 5jj:If I may disagree a little :)... I think when gauging the existence of an idiom, frequency is everything. Style or even level of speech is quite another matter.
If it can be shown that a particular expression is frequently used by native speakers, then we can say that it is acceptable, subject to caveats about style, register, etc. The mere existence of it producing x thousand or million google hits proves nothing at all. Citations in COCA, BNC or some other corpora are far more convincing arguments for the acceptability of an expression.
 
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If it can be shown that a particular expression is frequently used by native speakers, then we can say that it is acceptable, subject to caveats about style, register, etc. The mere existence of it producing x thousand or million google hits proves nothing at all. Citations in COC, BNC or some other corpora are far more convincing arguments for the acceptability of an expression.

Would you please link the addresses mentioned with COC and BNC?
 
Sorry, I should have written COCA. Typo. :oops:. I am now changing my original post.

BNC
 
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Sorry, I should have written COCA. Typo. :oops:. I am now changing it my the original post.

BNC

Yes, thank you because I googled and didn't find it.
Thanks again teacher.
 
The Google test:

"make a try of it"

"have a try of it".

The variant with "make" is less common, but both phrases exist. Perhaps they are regional to North American English?

PS. The Google test for "have it a try" yields a thousand times more results than "make a try of it", so the phrase obviously exists. I am a little surprised at its frequency! Let me add that the two best choices are definitely the "give it a try" Bhaisahab's endorsed, and "have a try at it". I would also suggest the simple "try it".

They sound odd to this North American.
 
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