to or -ing / try to do, try doing, help to do, help doing

[Jon]

Hello,

Sentences:
s1 - I am going to help my friend ___ house
s2 - We tried to move the table, but it was too heavy
s3 - We didn't like the way it was arranged, so we tried moving to the other side

Issues:
i1 - Which is the correct for s1? "moving" or "to move". Why (grammatically) please?
i2 - What is the difference betwen s2 and s3 (try to do / try doing)

Thanks in advance !!

[Alan]

Hi,

I would say: help someone do something

Try to do is make an effort

Try doing is make an experiment

as in:

At first we tried to push the door open but it was stuck and so in the end we tried using a hammer and it suddenly opened.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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