encourage someone to try

Meaning

This phrase means to give someone support, confidence, or hope so that they attempt to do something new or difficult. It is used in daily life, parenting, education, and friendship to describe positive motivation.

Examples

• Parents should always encourage their children to try new foods.

  Parents should always encourage their children to try new foods.

• My teacher decided to encourage me to try for the scholarship.

  My teacher decided to encourage me to try for the scholarship.

• I wanted to encourage him to try skiing, but he was too scared.

  I wanted to encourage him to try skiing, but he was too scared.

• If she is hesitant about applying, we should encourage her to try.

  If she is hesitant about applying, we should encourage her to try.

• A good coach will always encourage players to try their best.

  A good coach will always encourage players to try their best.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I encouraged him for trying the new sport.

  ✓ I encouraged him to try the new sport.

  The verb 'encourage' is followed by the pattern 'encourage [someone] + to-infinitive'.

• ✗ She encouraged me try the cake.

  ✓ She encouraged me to try the cake.

  You must include the preposition 'to' before the base verb when using this structure.

Related Expressions

Practice

• He was scared of public speaking, but I wanted to ___.

  💡 Give him confidence to attempt it.

  Show answer

  encourage him to try

• It's important to ___ new hobbies even if they seem difficult at first.

  💡 Support others in attempting new things.

  Show answer

  encourage people to try