What is the correct form?

Question

1. I rang the door bell, but there was no answer. Then I tried _____ (knock) on the door, but there was still no answer
2. I tried _____ (reach) the shelf, but I wasn't tall enough

Which do you like best between "try to do' and 'try ~ing'


I'd like to know,,

Answer 1

knocking (meaning you tried knocking as an option, not that you had to struggle to actually knock)
to reach (meaning you struggled to actually reach the shelf)

I was going to give another analogy, but actually these 2 sentences are pretty clear about the differences.

Answer 2

1. I rang the door bell, but there was no answer. Then I tried _knocking____ (knock) on the door, but there was still no answer
2. I tried _to reach____ (reach) the shelf, but I wasn't tall enough

Which do you like best between "try to do' and 'try ~ing'
It depends upon the situation.
You can either say:
"I try to reach the shelf" or "I tried to reach the shelf." is better. But if you tell about a continued effort at a certain time, than you use "trying", like: "I am trying to reach the shelf now." This sentence means you are at this moment in the process of doing it. "I was trying to reach the shelf when my mother came." this sentence means, you were at a certain time in the past in the process of doing the act of trying to reach the shelf, when suddenly your mother came in.

Answer 3

1. knocking
2. reaching, to reach