Try to avoid it vs. Try not to use it

Question

try not to use it:

From The New York Times:

Nowadays, Mr. Figueroa has two daughters and a stepson, and the potato incident is largely behind him. He lives in a small duplex in the Burg, a fading Italian neighborhood near South Trenton, with his girlfriend, Coco, who works at the jewelry counter at Wal-Mart; his stepson; and one of his two daughters. ''I try to keep my celebrity status to myself,'' he said. ''I try not to use it as a crutch.''

From The Guardian:

As for the term body farm? It comes from the title of a 1994 novel by the crime writer Patricia Cornwell, set at a similar facility in Tennessee. “We try not to use it,” Forbes said. “From our perspective, it’s somewhat disrespectful to the donors and their valuable contribution.”

Is it correct to say that in some contexts (as given above) "try not to use it" can be replaced with "try to avoid it" (and vice versa)?
If yes, is there any difference in the shades of their meaning?

The first sentence would be awkward if the phrases were swapped, the second sentence would have its meaning completely changed, and the last sentence would actually become meaningless. In short, none of them are good examples of a simple exchange. — Jason Bassford, Jun 15 '20 at 22:34
@JasonBassford Sorry if I ask in the wrong place (I'm aware of ell.stackexchange.com), but could you explain why? I removed the 3rd example because it quickly became clear what you mean by "meaningless": we cannot use "try not to use" when we talk about activity; it should be used with nouns. I suppose I understood you correctly. The 1st and 2nd examples looks "valid" to me. — user90726, Jun 15 '20 at 22:44
Both of the examples given are for the idiomatic phrase try not to use it rather than try to not use it, which is unusual. Which one are you asking about? — John Lawler, Jun 15 '20 at 23:06
@JohnLawler My bad, there were some mistypes. I mean "try not to use it". — user90726, Jun 15 '20 at 23:08
@JohnLawler Is there a meaningful colloquial difference between try not to use it and try to not use it? Would you mind explaining? — Richard Kayser, Jun 15 '20 at 23:26
@RichardKayser I'm not John, but still: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/23152/order-of-not-with-infinitive — user90726, Jun 15 '20 at 23:35
Try not to spill the coffee, for instance, is simply the idiomatic way to warn someone; try to not spill the coffee is unidiomatic and therefore raises the question of why the idiom was not used. One answer might be that in the previous discourse the phrase to not spill (versus to spill) had been used, and was repeated in this sentence. There are other possibilities, as there always are with idioms. In other words, there is certainly a difference, but it is not "meaningful" in the sense of predicting the meaning. It's pragmatic, not semantic. — John Lawler, Jun 15 '20 at 23:47
@jsv Thanks for the reference. Much appreciated. Interesting that "to not" sometimes has the meaningful advantage of avoiding ambiguity as in the "not to kill" versus the "to not kill" example. — Richard Kayser, Jun 16 '20 at 00:02
@JohnLawler Many thanks. I agree that (1) "try not to use it" is idiomatic, and (2) the difference between that and "try to not use it" is not meaningful in the sense of predicting meaning. — Richard Kayser, Jun 16 '20 at 00:12
@RichardKayser I disagree that try to not spill the coffee is unidiomatic. Try not to might be more common, but try to not is still far from uncommon. In fact, if being formal, I'd say it's preferred because it's more accurate. — Jason Bassford, Jun 16 '20 at 00:38
@jsv I'm not sure if I can do justice to an actual answer to this. I find too many differences between avoid (do not go near) and do not use (do not employ). On the other hand, I could see a more valid distinction in subtly between try not to use and try to avoid *using*. — Jason Bassford, Jun 16 '20 at 00:43
@JasonBassford I never said "try to not" is unidiomatic with regard to coffee or anything else. I only said that "try not to use it" is idiomatic. What I was trying to say in my comments is that I see no difference in meaning between "try not to use" and "try to not use". I also made the point in my response to jsw's comment that at least in some cases "to not" is "more accurate" than "not to". With regard to that and to the matter of common versus uncommon, you might want to check out the link jsw sent me. — Richard Kayser, Jun 16 '20 at 01:30
@RichardKayser I was disagreeing with John Lawler, but addressing my comment to you as additional information. I'm sorry for the confusion. — Jason Bassford, Jun 16 '20 at 02:06
“Try to avoid using it” would be an alternative to “try not to use it.” — Xanne, Jun 16 '20 at 04:51
They are sometimes interchangeable and still, there are huge differences in meaning?
For a straight comparison, you would need "Try to avoid using it…"

Failing that, "Try not to use it…" constrains your own actions; "Try to avoid it…" limits your prescribed response to other people's actions. — Robbie Goodwin, Jun 26 '20 at 22:11

user90726 · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17T15:03:59.063

(A very humble attempt to answer my own question. Feel free to downvote if I'm wrong. I'm not even a native speaker.)

"Try to avoid" is very close to "Try to not". We use these wordings when we mean to dodge something, literally or figuratively. ("To dodge a bullet" = "To avoid a bullet".)

Example 1

Try not to kill him.

Try to not kill him.

Try to avoid killing him.

1 could either mean that

Option 1: Your aim is something other than killing him. (You don't care much whether or not he will be killed.) - or -
... Option 2: Your aim is keeping him alive. (He is your friend, you don't want him to be killed.)

2 and 3 definitely means the first option.

Example 2

The same goes for "Try not to use it", "Try to not use it", and "Try to avoid it".

This is a big red button that launches nuclear weapons. Try not to use it.

This is a big red button that launches nuclear weapons. Try to not use it.

This is a big red button that launches nuclear weapons. Try to avoid using it.

1 could either mean that

Option 1: You don't care much whether or not the new world war will start. - or -
... Option 2: You don't want to start the new world war.

2 and 3 definitely means the first option.

"Try to avoid using it" vs. "Try to avoid it"

To my opinion, the former one can always be replaced with the latter without any difference in the meaning. The only difference is tone: the latter one is less formal.

Avoid using violent language. (A rule in the corporate style guide for in-house writers.)
Dude, please, avoid violent language. Seriously.

An addendum

The choice can also be dictated by considerations of aesthetics. As John Lawler said:

"Try not to spill the coffee", for instance, is simply the idiomatic way to warn someone; "try to not spill the coffee" is unidiomatic and therefore raises the question of why the idiom was not used. One answer might be that in the previous discourse the phrase to not spill (versus to spill) had been used, and was repeated in this sentence.

I was perfectly fine with this answer until I got to the addendum. Although your first sentence is fine, I completely disagree with the quote. I don't think that either phrase is unidiomatic, it's simply that one is used less often. However, in some contexts, I believe the less common one becomes more common. So, for me, that quote unfortunately spoils what's been said up until then. — Jason Bassford, Jun 17 '20 at 23:53

Try to avoid it vs. Try not to use it

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