Let's "try"

In Spanish, we can "try" with either "tratar," "intentar," or "probar." It all depends on what you are "trying" to do. To the point:

1. "To try" will be "tratar de" or "intentar" if you mean "to attempt." Therefore you can say something like "Voy a tratar de estudiar más los fines de semana" or "Intentaré ser más organizado."
2. "To try" will be "probar" if you mean "to sample" or "to taste." For example, "Quiero probar ese carro antes de comprarlo" or "Tienes que probar la comida peruana."

Yesterday, my student was confused because he thought that "to taste" was "probar." The truth is that "to taste" will ONLY be "probar" if it ALSO means "to try." So if you say something like "This food tastes like.... " it will not work. "To taste like" is "saber a," therefore "to taste" - when not meaning "to try" - is "saber." For example "¿A qué sabe esa comida?"

¿Entienden? Espero que sí.