student asking question

What is different between saying "try to be more descriptive" and "try being more descriptive"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

These two sentences are very similar. Both are perfectly acceptable to use and both have the same meaning. The only difference between them is the form of the verb "to be" along with the tense of the sentence. "Try to be more descriptive," the verb is in its base form and the sentence is in the present simple tense. "Try being more descriptive," the verb is in the present participle form and the sentence is in the present continuous tense. Here are some examples of sentences with these phrases being used. Ex: Could you please try to be more descriptive? Ex: Try being more descriptive, please.

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