Stop and try: how ing and to change the meaning

The idea

Use stop + ing for the activity that ceases, and stop + to-infinitive for the purpose of a pause. Use try + ing to test an approach, and try + to-infinitive to make an effort to do something.

Examples

• We stopped painting when the light faded.
• We stopped to photograph the ruined tower.
• Try placing the lamp behind the chair.
• I tried to lift the trunk, but it was too heavy.
• She tried pressing the reset button, but the screen stayed dark.
• He tried to reach the top shelf and finally succeeded.

Watch out

Tried to does not automatically mean failure: the shelf example explicitly reports success. Testing the reset button with tried pressing does not guarantee a working screen. Stopped to photograph does not say that photography ended or that the previous activity later resumed.

Try it yourself

1. Describe ending the painting activity. We stopped ___ when the light faded. (painting / to paint)

   Show answer or example answer

   painting

   Painting is the activity that ended. To paint would instead describe the purpose of stopping something else.

2. Describe pausing our walk in order to take a photograph. We stopped ___ the tower. (to photograph / photographing)

   Show answer or example answer

   to photograph

   To photograph gives the purpose of pausing the walk. Photographing would say the photography stopped.

3. What result is stated? He tried to reach the top shelf and finally succeeded. (He reached it. / He failed to reach it.)

   Show answer or example answer

   He reached it

   He reached the shelf: finally succeeded states the result. Tried to describes the effort and is compatible with eventual success.

Use it today

Describe a task you stopped doing, a pause you took to do something else, and a method you tried. State separately whether the method solved your problem.