[Grammar] try to V vs try Ving

[jutfrank]

Can I say: You can't open the door? Here, try to open it with this key. I just want to know if this sentence sounds natural.

Natural? No. (I'm not sure what you mean by 'natural'.) Perhaps you mean a likely thing for somebody to say? Still no, not really.

A likely utterance might be Here, try this or Here, use the key or Hold on, I've got a key.

 

[MichaelLu2000]

How about this: I tried to open the door but I couldn't, so I tried to open it with a crowbar, which failed as well.

 

[jutfrank]

How about this: I tried to open the door but I couldn't, so I tried to open it with a crowbar, which failed as well.

What's the question exactly?

 

[MichaelLu2000]

I just want to know if I can use the structure of "try to V" in this kind of sentence since we have all agreed that using "try Ving" might sound ambiguous. For example: I tried to open the door but I couldn't, so I tried opening it with a crowbar, which failed as well. In this case, tried opening it with a crowbar can mean that he door was really opened after I used the crowbar. And I did so to check if it works on something.

 

[jutfrank]

I just want to know if I can use the structure of "try to V" in this kind of sentence

I'm getting lost now. What is 'this kind of sentence'?

I tried to open the door but I couldn't, so I tried opening it with a crowbar, which failed as well.

In this case, tried opening it with a crowbar can mean that he door was really opened after I used the crowbar.

No, it can't, because of which failed, which makes it very clear that the door was not opened.

Since I can't seem to figure out exactly what you're really trying to ask, I'll just give you some general advice: Forget about the idea of success/failure, which often plays a part in the meaning of try to do, but does not have to, depending on overriding contextual cues. Just keep in mind the basic very different senses of the word try.

 

[MichaelLu2000]

I'm getting lost now. What is 'this kind of sentence'?



No, it can't, because of which failed, which makes it very clear that the door was not opened.

I think you misunderstood what I meant here. I'm saying that if I used "try opening", it would mean that I really open the door, which doesn't make sense because "it failed".
What you said is actually what i want to explain here. I choose to use "try to" because, as you've pointed out, "try ving"doesn't fit in this sentence