Are You Trying?

Today I'd like to share an example that popped up in one of my lessons recently: the word trying.

Most English students understand it as part of the verb to try.

He's trying to learn German.
The IT department are trying to fix my computer (let's hope they manage it!)
I'm trying my best!
She's trying to eat less cake...

In all of these examples, trying means making an effort.

So far so good...

But there's another trying that many people don't discover until much further down the line.

Trying as an adjective

As an adjective, trying means stressful, difficult to deal with or annoying!

For example:

"How is your week going so far?". "Oh, it's proving to be rather a trying week"
Looking after two energetic puppies can be very trying.
The diplomatic negotiations were long and trying.

Nobody is making an effort here. Instead, the week, the puppies, and the negotiations are causing stress.

Where did this meaning come from?
The adjective trying comes from another meaning of the verb to try, which means to test or to put to the test. So a trying day is literally a day that tries your patience, and a trying person is someone who puts your patience to the test.

So what about...

He's trying.

Without any context, you might assume this means:

He's making an effort.

Perhaps he's learning to cook, practising the piano, or studying English.

But now imagine two parents watching their five-year-old drawing on the walls with pen

One sighs and says:

He's trying.

Here trying is an adjective.

The child isn't making an effort at all.

He's being difficult.

The meaning has changed completely.

Fortunately, context usually makes everything clear.

If your friend says,

He's trying to pass his driving test.

there's no confusion.

If someone says,

I find him rather trying.

there's no confusion either.

The first sentence praises his effort.

The second politely says that spending time with him can be... well... hard work.

So the next time you hear trying, don't just ask yourself, "Is this the verb?"

Ask yourself,

"Is someone making an effort...

...or making everyone else's day a little more difficult?!"

If you'd like to push your English to the next level with the help of a native speaker then please browse my lesson list and see if anything grabs you. I can promise not to ask you 'Are you trying'?!!