try and vs. try to

by AnnaLisa Michalski

originally published in the ezine-turned-blog Word-wise, 1/18/09

Here's one of those fixes that perhaps only a proofreader would notice at first. Don't dismiss it as mere nit-picking, though. There are times when an entirely different message may underlie a person's statement that he will "try and" do something rather than "try to" do it.

In the context of a whole sentence, take the phrase apart.

Tomorrow James will try and purchase the new software.

In this sentence, the underlined phrase has two verbs, try and purchase. Accordingly, the speaker is saying James will take two actions: first, to make an effort ("[to] try"), then to complete an exchange of money for goods ("to purchase").

The trouble is, James probably only intends to take one action: to complete the exchange of money for goods. That intention would be more precisely communicated through a single verb phrase this way:

Tomorrow James will try to purchase the new software.

In the second sentence, it is very clear that James intends to do just one thing: direct all his effort toward exchanging money for the computer application.

So what's the big deal, you ask? Isn't James accomplishing the same task either way? Perhaps. It's true there are very few cases when any miscommunication would result from using "try and" in place of "try to." But those times are important when the verb try is used to convey its second meaning: to test, preview, or sample.

Suppose James's boss has directed him to use a trial version of the software before proceeding to purchase it. In this case, James's boss would be 100% accurate in stating that "James will try and purchase the new software." But it's also true in this case that naming two actions implies both will be completed without a doubt. The boss seems to be making an assumption that the software will pass James's inspection. It is conceivable that James would hear the statement and interpret it as a directive to simply purchase, not a directive to test followed by a judgment about whether to purchase.

Let's hope poor James asks his boss for clarification before he wields his company credit card.