Inentar Vs Probar Vs Tratar - "to try"

Question

There was a sentence I came across:

"No éramos ricos, pero mis padres trataron de proveer todo lo necesario para nuestra familia"

I checked the verb "tratar" on spanishdict, and it means "to treat". So I'm thinking, is tratar one of those verbs that changes in the preterit?

Also, would it have been okay to use intentar or probar instead?

Intentar... - Jeremias, Oct 1, 2011

Answer 1

Tratar de + inf is a construction meaning "to try + inf".

These types of constructions are sometimes called "perifrasis".

Another example would be "ponerse a + inf", which means to begin something.

You could have said "...mis padres intentaron a proveer" to mean the same thing, but probar means "to try" in the sense of to sample, or to taste, so it wouldn't work in your example.

Suerte,

Answer 2

No cguirguis, it is in another form "tratar de + infinitive" as in your example and in the following and it is the intransitive form.

Yo trato de recordar el título del libro.

I try to remember the title of the book.

In the transitive form the dictionary shows so much more than to treat:

1. tratar [trah-tar’] article & verb transitive
   1. To treat on a subject, to discuss; to confer, to consult.
   2. To touch, to handle, to manage.
   3. To baffle, to trade.
   4. To manage to conduct.
   5. to treat, to employ curative measures. (Medical)
   6. To study or be careful to attain an object. (Metaphorical)
   7. To have illicit.
   8. To give a person the title of courtesy to which he is entitled.

Answer 3

In this case, Tratar is the best choice.

It´s not a matter of changing meaning due to tense, but a matter of having more than one meaning. Yes, it is also means "to treat" as in the maner you would treat another person. A third way it is used is to mean to date someone as in getting to know them, ie: "Megustaría tratarte" (I would like to get to know you).