This chart shows the development of verbs following TRY TO , TRY AND.

This was inspired by a nice exploration of these constructions by Lynne Murphy try and, try to; GMEU app

Each bubble stands for a verb. The size of the bubble depends on the verb’s combined frequency in both TRY TO and TRY AND constructions. The position of the verb indicates how frequently it occurs in the TRY TO (x axis) or TRY AND (y axis) infinitive. The closer a verb gets to the diagonal from the lower-left corner to the upper-right corner of the plot, the more compatible it is with both constructions. The further right a verb goes, the stronger its preference for the TRY TO construction. The further up a verb goes, the stronger its preference for the TRY AND construction.

Before you click on play, you may want to adjust playback speed (it’s the button right next to the play button). You may also want to change the display from raw frequencies (Lin) to log-transformed values (Log): this has the effect of spreading the data points and making tendencies easier to spot. [from A motion chart of Captain Kirk’s split infinitive with R and googleVis by Guillaume Desagulier]