Grammar Help Please?

Question

I have to identify the grammar mistake in this question:

"This article tries to test a theory."

But when I replace 'tries' with 'trys' it still doesn't work. I need to know what is wrong with the sentence and how to fix it. Help please :)

Answer 1

The sentence is not grammatically incorrect. The meaning is a bit illogical. An article doesn't DO anything, the author of the article or the person doing the testing is doing something. Therefore, it would be more accurate to say, "In this article, the author attempts to test a theory." you could say "is attempting", but it is traditional to use the present tense when discussing written work.

I agree with the previous answer, that "tries" isn't the best word to use.

If someone is telling you the grammar is wrong, they are mistaken. It is perhaps the meaning of the sentence that is bothering them.

Answer 2

It should be "This article is trying to test a theory." When you say "it tries to test", that would imply that the article tries to test the theory constantly, every day (as in "She goes to school every day.") Since the article is doing the testing as we speak, it's better to use the progressive tense.

Answer 3

It should be "This article is trying to test a theory"

Not only because "tries" means it is done constantly;
If you have written this as part of an essay, it should be replaced with "is trying" anyway. It is generally accepted that essays should be written in the present tense, especially in analytical essays about books, articles, etc.

i.e. "in the book sally said hello to bill" is past tense.
"in the book, sally says hello to bill" is present tense, and is most commonly found/accepted in essays.

Answer 4

Why is it in quotation marks? Quotation marks are for directly quoting a source, such as the article itself, or something someone has said (which is also a source.)

Tries is a confusing word. Some dictionaries do not give the past tense of a word. It is spelled tries, and therefore is correctly spelled in your sentence.

Answer 5

It should be 'This article is trying to test a theory.'

(the progressive tense is better because the simple present is normally used to indicate a repeating or habitual act)

Answer 6

the author of the article would be trying to test; but the article itself would put a theory to the test.

Answer 7

replace "tries" with "attempts"