Intentar, Mirar de, and Tractar de

Catalan has three common ways to present an attempt: intentar + infinitive, mirar de + infinitive, and tractar de + infinitive. They overlap, but they are not mechanically interchangeable. Intentar neutrally names an attempt, mirar de often sounds practical and conversational, and tractar de tends to present a deliberate effort in more formal or carefully planned discourse. The broader inventory is introduced on infinitives after verbs.

The core contrast

The connecting word is lexical and must be learned with the verb: intentar fer, but mirar de fer and tractar de fer. English “try to” gives no clue about this contrast.

Intentar: the neutral verb of trying

Intentar takes a bare infinitive. It simply says that the subject makes an attempt; it does not say whether the action succeeds.

The tense and aspect of intentar locate the attempt. He intentat trucar-te presents a relevant completed attempt; intentava trucar-te views the effort from inside an unfolding past situation; vaig intentar trucar-te reports it as a bounded past event. None guarantees success.

Mirar de: making a practical effort

When mirar means literal visual perception, it takes an object: mira la pantalla. In mirar de + infinitive, however, it means “try to,” “see if you can,” or “make an effort to.” This construction is idiomatic and especially natural in (informal) instructions, requests, promises, and self-directed plans.

In requests, mira de... can sound less confrontational than a direct imperative because it frames the requested action as an effort rather than as a guaranteed result. It is still a real request, not vague hedging.

The preposition contracts or elides normally. Before a vowel, de becomes d': mirar d'arribar, mira d'entendre-ho. Preserve the apostrophe.

Tractar de: deliberate effort and formal framing

Tractar de + infinitive also means “try to,” but often frames the action as a sustained, reasoned, or institutional effort. It is frequent in (formal) reporting, professional writing, and explanations, though it is not excluded from conversation.

Do not confuse this with tractar de + noun, which can mean “deal with / be about”: L'article tracta de la mobilitat urbana “The article deals with urban mobility.” With an infinitive, context normally makes the attempt meaning clear.

Person, tense, and mood

The attempt verb is finite and agrees with the person making the effort; the following infinitive is nonfinite.

When the same participant performs both actions, the infinitive is the compact pattern: intento arribar. When the desired action has a different subject, Catalan can use a que-clause with the subjunctive, especially with intentar: Intentem que tothom pugui participar. The mood follows the meaning: the participation is a pursued outcome, not an asserted fact.

The mere presence of intentar does not force every nearby clause into the subjunctive. In Intento explicar-te què passa, què passa is an embedded question asking what is actually happening, so passa is indicative. Read the assertion structure rather than memorizing a trigger word.

Viewpoint: present, imperfect, and bounded past

English often says “I was trying” whenever an effort occurred in the past. Catalan chooses a viewpoint more precisely:

• Intentava obrir la finestra quan has trucat views the effort as ongoing background.
• Vaig intentar obrir la finestra, però no vaig poder presents one bounded attempt.
• He intentat obrir la finestra, però continua encallada connects the attempt to the present result.

This distinction is not a reason to overuse estar + gerund. Estava intentant configurar-la is possible when the progressive focus itself matters, but the imperfect intentava configurar-la is usually enough.

Weak pronouns

A weak pronoun belonging to the infinitive can attach to that infinitive: intentar fer-ho, mirar d'explicar-li-ho, tractar de resoldre'n dos. Pronoun climbing before the finite verb is also common, especially with a single pronoun and with mirar de.

Keep the cluster intact and place it in one licensed position. Do not insert an independent pronoun between the finite verb and the infinitive.

Contrast with success and completion

Attempt constructions leave the result open. Aconseguir + infinitive says the action succeeds; arribar a + infinitive presents a threshold finally reached; acabar per + infinitive presents an eventual outcome.

These distinctions matter because English try, manage, and end up encode different outcomes too. Catalan does not turn an attempt into a success just by choosing a completed past tense.

Mini-dialogue

The first speaker offers a practical effort without guaranteeing the result; the second reports attempts and explicitly states their failure.

Regional and register choices

The three constructions are part of contemporary standard Catalan. Mirar de is particularly characteristic of natural everyday Catalan across much of the domain. Intentar is neutral in speech and writing. Tractar de is often more deliberate or (formal). Other standard choices such as procurar + infinitive and, in some contexts, assajar de + infinitive may occur, but they do not change the complement required by the three patterns taught here. There is no need to copy Spanish tratar de wherever English has “try”; Catalan has its own distribution and frequently prefers mirar de.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Use intentar + infinitive, with no preposition, for a neutral attempt.
• Use mirar de + infinitive for a practical, often conversational effort or softened request.
• Use tractar de + infinitive for a deliberate effort, especially in careful or formal discourse.
• The finite verb carries person, tense, viewpoint, and mood; the infinitive does not guarantee success.
• With a different understood actor, a purpose-like que-clause commonly takes the subjunctive.
• Weak pronouns may attach to the infinitive or climb before the finite verb; keep the whole cluster together.