What I learned from try-to-do-something-vs-try-doing-something, to+do is used to attempt to do or accomplish and to+gerund is used to test the effect or result or an effort based on more of a guess work.
Isn't it still difficult to guess? These are some exercise that I've tried to answer, but I got all wrong.
- I rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. Then I tried to knock on the window, but there was still no answer. (The correct answer on my book is tried knocking).
- Sue needed to borrow some money. She tried to ask Carl, but he didn't have any. (The correct answer on my book is tried asking).
- The woman's face was familiar. I tried remembering where I'd seen her before. (The correct answer on my book is tried to remember).
I still find it difficult which one to choose between those two. At first, I thought that If I did something, but it failed, "try to" will be used, and if I did something but it worked, "try+gerund" will be used, but seems like it doesn't true?
Now, can I think about this: if I did "something different from something that has been done before", then try+gerund must be used, but if there is only one thing that has been done or there is a statement before, then try+to must be used. Is it correct to think that way?