Why do you say "I tried calling you" instead of "I tried to call you"? I heard native speakers say "I tried calling you but you...." I thought "Try to +V" means put in effort to do something whereas "

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Why do you say "I tried calling you" instead of "I tried to call you"? I heard native speakers say "I tried calling you but you...."

I thought "Try to +V" means put in effort to do something whereas "Try + V.ing" means to experiment something.

Why do native say "tried calling" instead of "tried to call" when the meaning is about putting in effort to get a hold of someone?

Feb 6, 2019 4:27 AM

Answers · 6

'I tried to call you' means I couldn't because I sunny know how to use the phone, or the phone didn't work for some reason. 'I tried calling you' means I did that instead of emailing or texting. :)

February 6, 2019

Sorry, I don't get your question. . They did call. It was the guy at the other end who didn't answer. So they tried calling and it didn't work. I tried calling you. I had to just leave a message. . To try to call, would mean that somehow they were unable to make the call. I tried to call you, but I was out of cellphone range. . Did that sound convincing? . Actually I suspect you would see both options used in practice, as the meaning is sort of obvious.

February 6, 2019

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