非谓语动词一直是英语学习的重点，学好了事半功倍，学不好危机四伏，特别是在考试中。有些动词后面只接动名词或不定式（带 to 的或不带 to 的），有些动词后面既可以接动名词，也可以接不定式，而且意思往往大相径庭，有些令人苦不堪言，就比如 try to do 和 try doing.

一、try to do (make an effort)

Try to do 表示尝试去做某事，所做之事有难度，所以需要做出努力，但是结果不一定成功，例如：

I try to complete this report by the end of the day.

我必须设法在今天结束前完成这份报告。

Have you tried to learn a musical instrument?

你试过学乐器吗？

You should try not to drink more than twice a week.

你应该试着一周喝酒不要超过两次。

He likes to try to beat his sister at chess, but she always wins.

他喜欢在国际象棋上试着打败他妹妹，但她总是赢。

The children tried to put up the tent by themselves, but in the end they needed to ask their parents for help.

孩子们试图自己搭起帐篷，但最后还是得向父母求助。

She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.

她想赶上公共汽车，但跑得不够快。

二、try doing sth (as an experiment or a test)

Try doing sth 表示寻找解决问题的方法，把做某事当作一个实验或测试，且事情简单；当你 try doing 某事时，这个动作总是会成功，但它可能会或不会帮助你的总体目标。当你为了解决问题而做某事时，使用 try doing sth，例如：

I’ve tried altering this recipe so many ways, but the cake never comes out quite right.

我试过很多方法来改变这个食谱，但蛋糕总是做得不对。

解析：每次改变食谱只是当作一个实验，这个动作是简单的且每次都成功了。

My phone stopped working, so I tried turning it off and on again.

我的手机停止工作了，所以我试着把它关掉再打开。

解析：每次开关手机只是一种测试，这个动作是简单的且都成功了。

My colleague doesn’t seem to like me very much, I’ve tried inviting him to our social events.

我的同事似乎不太喜欢我，尽管我试着邀请他参加我们的社交活动。

解析：邀请他只是一种测试，这个动作是简单的且成功了。

The television’s not working. Try plugging it in.

电视坏了。试着接通电源。

解析：接通电源是只是一种测试，这个动作是简单的且很容易成功。

三、区别

1. I tried to give up chocolate, but it was too hard. I always ate when my friends offered it to me.

我试着放弃巧克力，但太难了。朋友给我的时候我总是吃一些。

解析：放弃巧克力这个动作是一件非常困难的事情，所以用 try to do sth.

I tried giving up chocolate but it didn't make me feel more healthy.

我试着放弃巧克力，但它并没有让我感觉更健康。

解析：放弃巧克力这个动作简单而且已经成功了。

2. It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window. It didn't help though, it was very hot outside .

房间里太热了。我试着打开窗户。不过没用，因为外面也很热。

解析：打开窗户只是一种尝试，这个动作是简单的且成功了，所以用 try doing.

I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck.

我试着打开窗户，但打不开，因为它卡住了。

解析：窗户被卡住了，打开它需要很大的努力，所以用 try to do.

3. Have you spoken to Rachel? No I tried calling her but the line was busy.

你跟瑞秋谈过吗？不，我试着给她打电话，但电话占线。

解析：认为打电话可能是解决问题的方法。

Have you spoken to Rachel? No I tried to call her but the line was busy.

你跟瑞秋谈过吗？不，我想打电话给她，但电话占线。

解析：努力想和她通电话。

4. 总结一下

事情有难度且需要做出努力的用 try to do，事情简单且会成功的用 try doing.

关注外语行天下，后期会更精彩。