I read the following sentence in English Grammar in Use
book (App).
I will try and answer any questions you ask.
Why don't they use the following? (it is much common):
I will try to answer any questions you ask.
Is there any difference in meaning?
Update:
I noticed that a lot of books and news websites are using this phrase:
- Although Katty will try and answer as many questions as she can. BBC
- He puller would have a chance to try and answer the question on her own … The Multiplayer Classroom
Best Answer
"Try to" and "try and" have the same meaning. It is often asserted that "I will try and answer your questions" means "I will try and I will answer your questions" and that "try and" somehow promises that the trying will be successful. However, this claim isn't supported by actual usage: when people say "try and", they almost invariably mean exactly the same thing as "try to".
"Try and" is felt to be rather informal (and some people will insist that it is grammatically incorrect), so "try to" is normally used in more formal contexts. See, for example, this video from Merriam Webster's Ask the Editor.