Gerunds and Infinitives: Stop and Try

Stop and try are meaning-change verbs where the form you choose creates different meanings. Stop + gerund means you finish an activity: "She stopped smoking" (she no longer smokes). Stop + infinitive means you pause one activity in order to do something else: "She stopped to smoke" (she paused what she was doing in order to have a cigarette). These two sentences describe completely opposite situations regarding smoking.

Try works similarly. Try + gerund means experimenting with something to see if it works: "Try pressing this button" (experiment with this action). Try + infinitive means making an effort to do something difficult: "I tried to open the door" (I made an effort, but it was difficult). Compare: "Try eating less sugar" (an experiment or suggestion) vs "He tried to lift the heavy box" (he made an effort because it was hard). These distinctions are regularly tested in Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced Use of English sections.