Try and . . .

Oberon · Mar 12, 2008

I am probably a fossil, and oversensitive, but I am always bothered by the phrase "try and . . . " I have always said "Try to . . ." I will try to publish my book. I will try, and if I succeed, I will publish my book. Has "and" been in use for so long that it is now accepted as correct?

KTC · Mar 12, 2008

try and is wrong.

DeleyanLee · Mar 12, 2008

Unless it's in dialogue and fits the character who's saying it, IMHO.

KTC · Mar 12, 2008

DeleyanLee said:
Unless it's in dialogue and fits the character who's saying it, IMHO.

It goes without saying that anything goes in dialogue.

Duncan J Macdonald · Mar 12, 2008

I'll try and try again to try to remember.

KTC · Mar 12, 2008

Duncan J Macdonald said:
I'll try and try again to try to remember.

Yes, yes...there are exceptions. I meant it's wrong the way Oberon was saying it was wrong.

Flay · Mar 12, 2008

With apologies to KTC: "try and" is not wrong. It's been used in English writing for more than 300 years, & can be found (outside of dialogue) in Orwell & Forster. Fowler called it "an idiom not to be discountenanced". It's generally seen as less formal than "try to", but it is by no means an error.

Having said that, I too dislike the construction, & try never to use it.

KTC · Mar 12, 2008

Well...I think you will find it listed as wrong in as many places as you will find it listed as right. Another one of those things maybe that nobody can agree on.

Try And or Try To?
The expression try and followed by a verb is nonstandard.
Use try to instead.
Incorrect: Try and do it again.
Correct: Try to do it again.

I'm gonna stick with calling it wrong.

Matera the Mad · Mar 12, 2008

As far as my mental health is concerned, it's wrong, because the following verb is an infinitive form and it bloody well wants a "to" and the "and" drives me crazy. So don't try to tell me otherwise :tongue

...and they wonder why I am yclept "the Mad"

Flay · Mar 13, 2008

KTC said:
Well...I think you will find it listed as wrong in as many places as you will find it listed as right.

The only notable expert on usage who considers it an outright error, as far as I know, is Eric Partridge, whose prescriptions (& proscriptions) often have the character more of superstition than of authority.

Since English lacks (& always will lack, I hope) an Academie Anglaise, "error" is established by usage alone. As much as I would avoid the use of "try and" in my own work, its use in informal written English is too common, & too well-established, for me to consider it a mistake in the writing of others.

Dawnstorm · Mar 13, 2008

Oberon said:
Has "and" been in use for so long that it is now accepted as correct?

Is since the 13th century long enough?

KTC · Mar 13, 2008

Dawnstorm said:
Is since the 13th century long enough?

no

Dawnstorm · Mar 13, 2008

KTC said:
no

How...

...predictable.

KTC · Mar 13, 2008

Dawnstorm said:
How...

...predictable.

Yeah well

Flay · Mar 13, 2008

Would anyone object as vigorously to "Come and get it"?

Danalynn · Mar 13, 2008

Whew! I just checked my MS for "try and", and I'd only used it once, at the end of my novel, so I guess I'm okay on this point. All of the rest I'd used were try to's. Yaay!

:Sun:

And "Come and get it" sounds correct to me. Is it?

Try and . . .

Oberon

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Duncan J Macdonald

Plotting! Not Plodding!

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Flay

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

Flay

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Dawnstorm

punny user title, here

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Flay

Danalynn

NEVER give up!!!!