"Try to" or "Try and"

 

A particular pet hate for me is the use of "try and" instead of "try to". But it could be argued that my distaste for it is unjustified - not least, because "try and" seems to be the older form,

The argument goes that when the verb "try" is followed by an infinitive, it needs to be preceded by "to". However it has been pointed out by many that this "rule" has been being regularly broken since at least the 13th century. Indeed, we all do it with infinitives following words like "come" and "go". E.g. - "Come and see" or "Go and get it."

Nevertheless, I would still always argue for opting for "try to" rather than "try and".

"Try and" may be the older form, but "try to" is the more effective. It can do things that "try and" cannot do, such as function in inflected forms E.g. - "They tried to tell him." rather than "They tried and tell him."