Conjunction junction doesn't belong here.

Have you ever been reading happily along and come to the phrase, "try and . . ." followed by another verb (as in try and cook it thoroughly or try and climb to the top)? Or maybe you find "be sure and . . ." (as in be sure and wash thoroughly before cooking)?

Those are just plain wrong. As soon as you throw that and in there, you've got a compound verb, meaning the subject is doing TWO THINGS. In the first example, the subject is going to try and he/she is also going to cook. In the last example, the subject is going to be sure and is also going to wash.

What you mean is try to cook it thoroughly or try to climb to the top. Or be sure to wash thoroughly before cooking.

So go forth and use to instead of and in sentences like this today.

Be thankful ~

Karen