Translating "To Try" With Intentar, Probar and Tratar De

Join the Qroo Crew for More Content
www.skool.com/qroo
Want to thank me? Buy me a coffee
www.buymeacoffee.com/qroo
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS (I may earn a commission)
VIP Spanish (Unlimited Live Lessons): tinyurl.com/ydmffw6m
Spanish with Nate: tinyurl.com/ybxp694y
Rocket Spanish (Highly Recommended): tinyurl.com/3hf5hwsj
My Favorite Spanish Book (Amazon Paid Affiliate Link*)
U.S. link: amzn.to/3yOpO95
UK link: amzn.to/3mQSdJk
* As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@QrooSpanish]

Join the Qroo Crew for More Content www.skool.com/qroo Want to thank me? Buy me a coffee www.buymeacoffee.com/qroo

[@MrJackchristian]

As you speak with native Spanish speakers, you will notice that they also use another verb to say "to try to" / "to attempt". And that is the verb PROCURAR. Now procurar + infinitive is mostly used as a COMMAND. For example: PROCURA llegar temprano. Try to get there early Procura mantener la calma. Try to stay calm. Procura no toser. Try not to cough. (Here's one using the subjunctive, due to a change of subject): PROCURA que no te vean. Try and make sure that no one sees you. Etc., etc., etc. 👍

[@pedroteran5885]

"Procurar" implies that you need to take steps in advance (as per the prefix 'pro-'). Maybe a good translation is 'Make sure that', 'Take care that' or, at the very least, do your best to achieve the desired outcome.

[@xanvasanx]

Just so people know, "procurar" also means "conseguir" as in English "procure" (to get something)

[@Dr.Pain0o]

Thank you 🖤🖤

[@volkereinsfeld5970]

This might be useful, but when I explain the difference to other English speakers I explain it as you would use Probar in the same situations you could use “sample” in English. Did you sample the food? Did you sample how the dress fits? Etc It’s not a natural replacement but helps explains the line between the two words vs “try” in English

[@QrooSpanish]

I like that!

[@theresapuckett7786]

Oooh that is great. Your response made me think of "test out", which I think also works well.

[@StephannieHibbard]

Another teacher I have learned a lot from always reminds us that probar is to probe (test out).

[@agreedboarart3188]

Your channel is so helpful. Even on topics that I already think I'm proficient in, you still manage to teach me so many new things.

[@thefitnessgeezer.]

Thanks, Paul...I received Spanish for Dummies for Christmas from the wife, but this channel is my first go-to, of course. happy new year.

[@marcosarranzganan]

I am spanish and I like a lot your videos. I am learning english instead of spanish, but helps a lot for a spanish to understand english grammar.

[@QrooSpanish]

That's great!

[@jackbussy3133]

Para tratar de mejorar mi español, voy a probar las expresiones que nos enseñaste hoy…

[@josevicentegarciachaques2945]

Para tratar de mejorar mi español voy a ''usar'' las expresiones que me enseñaste hoy. Probar,se usa frecuentemente con la comida.( To taste), Aunque tambien es correcto decir ''que vas a probar algo'', pero es un poco mas informal. Probar,implica ''que harás algo por primera vez''.. Intentar, o Tratar ,( To try),hace referencia a ''cosas''. Un saludo.

[@jackbussy3133]

@@josevicentegarciachaques2945 Gracias !

[@mikewalker5618]

I love your attention to detail!!@ gracias mi amigo

[@jamesrowe2095]

I always look forward to your lessons, even since I found your channel this past Spring. I find myself trying to say and write out your sample sentences before you display them to see how close I can get to yours. "La investigación científica trata de probar y validar nuevas teorías." is pretty close, so I was very pleased with myself. You have a special talent for weaving your past lessons into each of your videos (-cion cognates, today's "to attempt/try") while sprinkling in new topics (new use for "buscar"). I'm so glad I found your channel, and I hope you continue to post videos for the foreseeable future. Happy Holidays!

[@borisnotrussian4461]

Well I guess this answers my question about using "me gustaría intentar" to oder food. I only started in November with spanish, now this will help a lot with using different verions of "to try". Thanks.

[@anneli1735]

„Me gustaría PROBAR“ to order food like he explained in this video. Maybe you want to watch and listen again 🤷‍♀️

[@RandomGamerES]

As Spanish native speaker 🇪🇸 They practically and grammatically mean the same things, but sometimes, we use them in different situations

[@geofftoscano6804]

My wife doesn’t speak much Spanish but when I was explaining the difference between intentar and tratar de versus probar she immediately said ‘you mean as in probadores’? I’ll remember because of this.

[@QrooSpanish]

Yes, I should have mentioned dressing rooms in the video. :

[@Thed_10]

But I think there’s a way the two (intentar and probar) can be used interchangeably. Well, I don’t know if it’s so common in Spanish but I’ve heard it once. It is “déjame probar a mí” meaning “let me try”…. But I’ve always used “déjame intentar” they are both good choices, so I just thought it was a good idea to drop it here. Merry Christmas Qroo 🎄🎁

[@rociopaoloni5080]

Yup it's certainly used like that! But it's true that although sometimes probar can replace intentar or tratar de, probar can't be replaced with those when used like shown here.

[@jamesfreese4700]

Gracias y feliz navidad!!!!

[@RookRolled]

I was able to get A New Reference Grammar Of Modern Spanish for Christmas upon request, being an avid viewer of your channel for some time now. Unfortunately I don’t think the person who bought it for me used the original link. Merry Christmas and thanks for the videos Qroo!

[@QrooSpanish]

That's too bad about the link, but the most impirtant part is that you enjoy the book. Merry Christmas!

[@StephannieHibbard]

Mi libro llega el Jueves! 🎉

[@JuanMoreno-wo5yb]

@@QrooSpanish Speaking of trying; I am trying to find your video where you spoke of something like 4 conjugations that should be the first to learn. If you know where that video is, please let me know! I need to attack those now! I am going nuts know where and how to make up for a lot of lost time not paying attention to them verbs!! Thanks. ❤

[@KC-pd3uk]

Thanks!

[@QrooSpanish]

Thank you!

[@leeholden13]

Excelente lección. Probaré el uso de probar tan pronto como sea posible. ¡Feliz Navidad!😊

[@spanishinput]

Hey, Paul. Congratulations on reaching 100K! I've just noticed. Are you going to claim your Silver Award?

[@QrooSpanish]

Thanks! It should arrive in 2-3 weeks.

[@andrzejbanas7261]

Me parece que todos mis comentarios casi sueñan iguales, pero lo voy a repetir otra vez. ¡Tus explicaciones son las mejores del mundo!

[@QrooSpanish]

Gracias. Un saludo. :)

[@ethanchandler3934]

Soñar is to dream but sonar is to sound. Debe ser “mis comentarios casi suenan iguales”

[@andrzejbanas7261]

@@ethanchandler3934 ¡Muchas gracias! Su explicación es muy clara y podré usarla.

[@ethanchandler3934]

@@andrzejbanas7261 es de nada, siempre me gusta ayudar todos cuando puedo.

[@janetleeharrison]

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you and your family! Thank you for the video. This is a big help - verbs are not as fun to learn. LOL, I prefer nouns.

[@Sr.Lund_eluno]

The tangent on the definite article was helpful too. I could read further in my new copy of "A New Reference ..." and get more examples (3.2.6). Merry Christmas.

[@svDUCHESS]

Congratulations on 100k subscribers! Guess that's what happens when you mix hard work with valuable content. I truly appreciate all your videos and look forward to many more.

[@leederbyshire6158]

Feliz Navidad Paul ! Y gracias !

[@nopefoh]

@qroospanish thank you for being such a consistent uploader. could you possibly do a video on the structure of your personal Spanish word list/journal. as i study spanish i find my notes are a bit all over the place, and maybe seeing an example of someone else's solution could be inspiring to develop my own or at least provide a starting point.

[@theresapuckett7786]

Mis apuntes español son iguales. No me molesta tanto como antes.

[@Svensk7119]

Hey, Paul, maybe this is a good way to distinguish them. Tratar de and Intentar are for verbs. Probar is for nouns. Does that make sense?

[@JasonBlaha66]

You are my favorite teacher

[@MilesRentas]

Missed opportunity to wear a Santa hat for this Christmas special. 🎅🎄

[@mrs.godfrey1714]

Siempre, trato de crear oraciones nuevas despues de ver tus videos 🙂Entonces, "Donde puedo probarme esta camiseta?" Muchisimo gracias Profe

[@3leggedkitten]

You made the difference very clear and easy to remember, thanks so much! The part about the indefinite article was super interesting as well.

[@believeinpeace]

Perfecto,muchas gracias

[@lindyzeballos5842]

Thank you very much for it. I will check it out.

[@student5487]

I am thinking about "haztelo" and the unique case of poder + ...

[@seemax07]

Great as always, thanks Paul!

[@michaelwallace4043]

Merry Christmas Paul

[@QrooSpanish]

Merry Christmas.

[@KC-pd3uk]

Éste fue un video muy útil. Gracias.

[@QrooSpanish]

Me alegra que te gustara. ;)

[@joebishman6163]

Hola y feliz navidad. En otro canal, la tema fue "hay, hubo, y había". Escribí "voy a intentarlas más". Me refería a las palabras "hay, hubo y había". ¿Es correcto? o ¿Debo usar "probar" en lugar de intentar? I wanted to express the idea that I would try to use/say the words more often.

[@theresapuckett7786]

Estoy aprendiendo también. Me parece que intentar es perfecto. Tal vez con "usar", como [intentar usarlas]? ¡Tengo ganas de ver lo que Paul diga! Gracias.🎉

[@user-ql9mo3ux2m]

​​​@@theresapuckett7786 tiene razón. "Voy a intentar usarlas más" es perfecta para expresarlo. También son correctas: "Voy a tratar de usarlas más" y "Voy a probar a usarlas más". Paul doesn't mention the structure "Probar a + infinitive" but is also correct in Spanish. They have very similar meanings but sometimes the difference could be very subtle depending on the context or the situation. ¡Un saludo!

[@ramonargon5913]

In Argentine Spanish we use probar in the same way as intentar or tratar de hacer algo. For example, we would say, "Probaste abrir la puerta?"

[@QrooSpanish]

That's interesting. Thank you for sharing that.

[@yutubve]

"intentar" means basically to try once...just once. "tratar de" means to try as many times as you can It's not a rule but more or less it works like so

[@tanyagwilkins962]

Felices fiestas Paul! Gracias por enseñarnos español. I learn so much from your videos.

[@QrooSpanish]

¡Muchas gracias!

[@raularcos1779]

Te felicito Tanya escribes muy bien Español , este año yo estoy planeando estudiar Ingles , que tengas un prospero 2024.

[@AliciaMarkoe]

Thank you 🦋

[@QrooSpanish]

You're welcome. Have a great week!

[@xanvasanx]

Just a bit of a side note In Spanish we don't "try" places XD (at least not in my region, but I know many other countries also don't say it like that) Instead ask about ever going to those places "¿Ya has ido a la nueva panadería?" "Have you been to the new bakery yet?" This already implies trying said place, we just don't use that word there

[@Justice.Dodson]

This is super helpful! So for say medication, asking if someone wants to try a medication for the first time we use probar?

[@stopthatluca]

Super good stuff

[@QrooSpanish]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for continuing to follow the channel.

[@BrixtonBeat]

I was familiar with probar but not the others. Thanks!

[@QrooSpanish]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@dision9470]

Al menos en Argentina, "probar" es perfectamente válido como sinónimo de intentar en muchos casos, por ejemplo: "¿Probaste abrir la puerta?" "¿Probaste apretar el botón rojo?" "Probé limpiar la mancha con jabón pero no salió." "Voy a probar usar las escaleras en lugar del ascensor"

[@QrooSpanish]

Gracias por compartir eso.

[@Svensk7119]

The Batman. ¡La democracia!

[@rioelmago1210]

Hey Paul.could you please elaborate on the verb "to become".it's somehow confusing.is it convertirse en,volverse,hacerse or what?

[@QrooSpanish]

I am actually working on a video about that topic.

[@MissFlint4U]

You are amazing at teaching and truly helping those interested in learning! Happy Holidays to you and Linda.

[@theresapuckett7786]

​@@QrooSpanish🎉🎉🎉

[@theresapuckett7786]

@QrooSpanish Paul, thank you so much for these distinctions. For me, watching your videos and being in the QRoo Crew is the PERFECT addition to listening and learning from native spanish speakers. Merry Christmas !! ❤💚

[@Muathino]

What about "Procurar"?

[@annebrendler5702]

I surely could use another lesson on when to use the definite article and when not to in Spanish.

[@QrooSpanish]

I'll add it to my list.

[@joksal9108]

Always good content here. I’m going to get lost with busca probar y validar. I’m going to want to put a “para” or “a” in there!

[@jamescadillac1448]

Where I live there are Mexicans Puerto Ricans the are the majority but there’s also Cape Verdes and Brazilians I’m trying to learn Spanish but i didn’t know that the language was different in dialects I and I might be moving to DR what is the best one to study I’m just getting confused and the biggest thing that is confusing me is words with V that sound like B but other words with V sounds like V

[@gerlautamr.656]

In Spanish you'll hear the letter "V" pronounced both ways depending on the region or the country, and even within the same region sometimes. Pronunciation rules for some letters in Spanish are not very strict. Something similar happens with the letter "Y".There are several ways to pronounce it, and all of them are correct.

[@karinsiljestemland1164]

❤

[@zeppelinmexicano]

Las matices cuentan.

[@cicixmorales8438]

Do you have a video that explains when to use me and yo in a sentence? I am currently struggling with this it’s a bit confusing

[@adamharris289]

Can you explain why sometimes an adjective goes before the verb its describing Like in one of your examples Voy a probar mi nueva bicicleta and not Voy a probar mi bicicleta nueva

[@jhonyermo]

So would it be correct to say 'intentar' is a verb and 'tratar de' is a verb phrase and they both mean the same thing?

[@QrooSpanish]

Yes!

[@5mintify]

Probar también puede significar 'to prove' - Se pasó la noche recopilando información para probar su inocencia.

[@gr8vibes]

How can I contact you concerning business

[@Rebecca008]

Idk if you’ve answered this is the past, but why can’t I say voy comer if I can say quiero comer? Doesn’t voy a comer become I am going to to eat? I understand that’s the rule, but I don’t really understand why it works.

[@QrooSpanish]

Some verbs require a preposition before you list another verb. Ir is one of those verbs. This video might help clear it up for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4LdY3ibqrRrjNU

[@SergioLorenzi-ef2yb]

"Tratar de" is more formal than "intentar".

[@user-rj1gs4yn8r]

I hear you talk about the subjunctive a lot. Personally, I find that "triggering" the subjunctive is simply when a statement is not 100% factual. That's it. Examples: *Cuando llegemos a la casa...* This hasn't happened so it isn't fact. *Cuando voy a Colombia...* This is factual, talking about what has happened whenever you go to Colombia. *Cuando vaya a Colombia...* This is talking about what *will* happen the next time you go to Colombia. *Quiero que vayas.* Also not fact. Just a desire. *Lavé tu camisa favorita para que puedas usarla para cenar.* You might not be able to wear the shirt to dinner because something might go wrong, etc. It's in the future, not a fact. *Voy al gimnasio.* This is in the future, so it might not happen, but it is stated as if it is 100% factual.

[@QrooSpanish]

That's a good way to look at it

[@galloitaliano27VEVO]

If I read correctly, I think you got those two last examples wrong. I’m surprised Mr. Paul didn’t catch you on that, given that he is a Spanish teacher, despite not being his mother tongue. This is why I strongly reject the idea of letting foreigners teach a language outside of their own (I’m not trying to be rude, disrespectful, mean or anything like that); mistakes like these are the prime example why I reject the whole idea. But don’t take my word for it, just check Marina Mogilko, Kale Anders, some Ukrainian girl named Anna here on KZbin (her channel has another name), they’re teaching a broken English to millions of people! Kale Anders was ripping off our community with a $500 English course that just doesn’t work, until he was called out on it. I’ve seen Latin Americans teaching English all over the internet with a massive & unbearable accent, dreadful grammar and bad spelling! I’m like, why are you embarrassing yourself like this? Why are you teaching your students nonsense like this? I’m not bragging about my English communication skills nor saying mine is superb, it’s not, however I think I’m on a very decent level. Despite that, I wouldn’t dare to teach something I don’t have complete dominance over. My two cents.

[@user-rj1gs4yn8r]

@@galloitaliano27VEVO I trust that you are not trying to be rude or disrespectful, but if you start out by saying that someone did something wrong then don't say what they did wrong, then proceed to complain instead of providing constructive advice then I'm having a hard time finding the positive in what you're saying. At the least I'd suggest clearly stating what the mistake was and what should have been said instead.

[@galloitaliano27VEVO]

@@user-rj1gs4yn8r Hello! Ok. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. That was not the intended purpose of my previous comment. Alright, that said, lets get to the cake. In the 5th example "Lavé tu camisa favorita para que puedas usarla para cenar", you say that this event might not happen because something could go wrong, but how could it go wrong if it happened already in the past? *Lavé* is in the past perfect simple (pretérito perfecto simple), "Lavé tu camisa..." translates to English as "I washed your shirt...", for something that will happen in a future moment in time like the one you described we say "Lavaré tu camisa..." which translates to English as "I will wash your shirt...". In the 6th example, you also say that this is a future event but is not. "Voy al gimnasio" is an ongoing activity. What you're actually saying is "I go to the gym", for example: (Yo) voy al gimnasio a correr" equals to: "I go to the gym to use the Treadmill (or to run if we're ought to be strict)". (Yo) iré al gimnasio" translates to "I will go to the gym" it could very well be "Voy a ir al gimnasio". "Voy a ir..." and "Iré a (al)..." are not *exactly* the same! Both express different ideas. Don't be fooled by these KZbin teachers.

[@user-rj1gs4yn8r]

@@galloitaliano27VEVO "Voy al gimnasio" is not future tense but it is indeed talking about a future activity. (You don't literally need to be on your way to the gym. You could be going to the gym "soon" and still say "Voy al gimnasio".) Yes, "Iré al gimnasio" is future tense but it is talking about something more distant than "Voy al gimnasio". For then 5th example, what verb is in the subjunctive? It's not "lavar", it's "poder". "Puedas" is not past tense. "Puedas llevarla" is talking about an action that will take place in the future.

[@xtremeboy78]

you have a colombian accent cuando hablas espanol,,,

[@resurgem]

Paul's wife is Columbian.

[@nelliehartmann5595]

❤