Should the verb try be followed by gerund or infinitive in this sentence?

Question

So I know that the verb Try can be followed by both gerund and infinitive though the meaning slightly changes.

But which one should be used in the sentence below?

Why don’t you let your children try to make/making their own decisions? They are old enough to choose their own future and how they are going to live.

Is it like only one of them is correct and the other one is incorrect?or can we say that both of them are correct but one of them fits this sentence better?

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 14 '20 at 16:52

2

[1] Why don’t you let your children try to make their own decisions?

[2] Why don’t you let your children try making their own decisions?

There's a difference.

In [1] "try" means "endeavour", while in [2] it means "test the effectiveness of".

Both forms are possible, depending on the intended meaning.

answered Mar 14 '20 at 16:52

BillJ

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Thanks. So both of them are correct in this sentence? – Mhmd Mar 14 '20 at 17:05
@Mhmd As I said, they have slightly different meanings, though I think [2] may be more appropriate. – BillJ Mar 14 '20 at 17:09

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 14 '20 at 16:24

0

In that sentence, the two forms sound about equivalent to me.

answered Mar 14 '20 at 16:24

Jack O'Flaherty

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Should the verb try be followed by gerund or infinitive in this sentence?

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