Try doing or try to do: experiment or effort

Try + verb-ing means perform an action as an experiment and see whether it helps, is enjoyable, or produces the desired effect. It is common in advice about technology, work, learning, healthy habits, and everyday problems.

When referring to the past, this pattern usually indicates that the method was actually tested. Its result can be positive or negative, however: tried opening the window does not mean the room became cooler.

Try + to + base verb expresses an attempt to do or achieve something. The context often provides an obstacle: the action is difficult, time is short, something is broken, or the result does not depend on the speaker alone.

Try to do does not itself say whether the attempt succeeded. The continuation clarifies the result: I tried to call her, and eventually she answered or I tried to call her, but there was no signal.

After try meaning experiment, use an -ing form without to: try changing, tried taking, have tried using. After try meaning attempt, use to and the base form: try to change, tried to take, is trying to use.

Tense and aspect are expressed on try: tried, is trying, have tried. The following form remains verb-ing or to + base verb. These patterns do not use a bare infinitive after try: try open and tried fix are ungrammatical.

A negative before the second action preserves the meaning contrast. Try not to interrupt means make an effort to avoid interrupting. Try not using notifications for a day means test a day without notifications and observe the result.

Do not confuse these forms with negating try itself. I did not try to call means no attempt to call was made; I tried not to call means the speaker made an effort to avoid calling.

A real situation can contain both a method and a difficulty. Try opening the window presents opening it as a possible solution to a stuffy room. Try to open the window presents opening itself as an action that may be difficult. Both can be appropriate if the context supports the intended focus.

Words such as but, difficult, or see if often offer clues, but they are not automatic markers. Read the whole meaning: but can introduce either an experiment's unsuccessful outcome or an obstacle to an attempted action.

In advice, identify the problem first, then propose an action as a test: Try lowering the brightness; it may save battery. In an account of a difficult goal, state the effort and result: I tried to finish before five, but I needed another hour.

To express the contrast in natural language, combine the patterns: We tried using a checklist, and I will try to follow it every day. The first part names a tool that was tested; the second describes a personal effort to follow it.