Verb + -ing or to ... 2
Try, need, and help — different patterns and meanings
Try to … and try -ing
Try to do something means you attempt to do it, you make an effort:
- I was exhausted after the late shift. I tried to keep my eyes open during the meeting, but I couldn’t.
- Please try to be quiet when you come into the office. The others are on a call.
Try doing something (or try something) means you do it as an experiment to see what happens:
- The printer doesn’t seem to be working. *Try pressing the green button.* (= press it — maybe that will fix the problem)
- We couldn’t find a free meeting room. We tried every room on the third floor, but they were all booked.
Compare
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| I tried to move the filing cabinet, but it was too heavy. | I attempted to move it. I couldn’t. |
| The layout felt wrong, so I tried moving the cabinet to the other wall. It didn’t look right, so I moved it back. | I moved it as an experiment to see if it looked better. |
The difference matters: try to do = make an effort (you may fail). Try doing = do it and see what happens.
Need to … and need -ing
Need to do something means it is necessary for you to do it:
- He needs to work harder if he wants that promotion.
- I don’t need to attend the morning stand-up, do I?
When you talk about a thing that requires some action, you can use need -ing:
- My phone needs charging. (= it needs to be charged)
- Does your suit need cleaning before the conference? (= does it need to be cleaned?)
- It’s a difficult problem. It needs thinking about carefully.
Compare
| Subject is a person | Subject is a thing |
|---|---|
| I need to charge my phone. | My phone needs charging. |
| We need to repaint the reception area. | The reception area needs repainting. |
When the subject is a thing, needs -ing has a passive meaning (needs charging = needs to be charged).
Help and can’t help
After help, you can use to do or just do (with or without to). Both are correct:
- Everybody helped to clean up after the office party. or Everybody helped clean up …
- Can you help me move this desk? or Can you help me to move …
Can’t help doing something means you can’t stop yourself from doing it:
- I don’t like him, but he has a lot of problems. I can’t help feeling sorry for him.
- She tried to be serious, but she couldn’t help laughing.
- I’m sorry I’m so nervous. I can’t help it. (= I can’t help being nervous)
Quick Self-Check
The projector wasn't working before the client presentation. A colleague said: '_____ restarting it.'
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I _____ to concentrate during the budget review, but the noise from the construction site was too loud.
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The windows in the meeting room are filthy. They _____.
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Can you help me _____ these boxes to the storage room?
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The data in the report looked wrong. I _____ laughing when I saw the total was off by a million.
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