be central to trying

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "be central to trying" is not standard in written English and may cause confusion.
It could be used in contexts discussing the importance of a particular element in an effort or attempt, but it lacks clarity. Example: "The new strategy must be central to trying to improve our sales figures this quarter."

Environmental Sciences Europe

WikiHow

The Economist

The New Yorker

The Guardian

The Guardian - Sport

The New York Times

BBC

Vice

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

In the process of setting WQC it is central to try to mimic organism exposure in natural environments [9], which can be difficult, given the vast natural variability within and among natural aquatic ecosystems.

Environmental Sciences Europe

Encouragement through understanding your child's interests has to be central to what you are trying to achieve.

WikiHow

When science tries to be central to the plot of a novel, or when the theatre is used for scientific enlightenment, the attempt all too often unravels.

The Economist

The attempt to capture the atmosphere of London today was central to what I was trying to do.

The New Yorker

Yasir says: "Tapping into the wealth of diverse and marginalised voices out there is central to what we are trying to achieve with truly ground breaking and open journalism.

The Guardian

He has been central to everything Bath have tried to do and possesses a tactical awareness beyond his years.

The Guardian - Sport

"Chairman Arafat is the leader of the Palestinian people, and his leadership is now even more central to trying to find a way out of this tragic situation," he said.

The New York Times

Mr. Arafat's leadership, he said, was "now even more central to trying to find a way out of this tragic situation".

The New York Times

How it came to deviate from its course by 3-4 nautical miles - and why it capsized so quickly - will be central for investigators trying to establish the cause of the accident.

BBC

Other Senate Republicans, notably John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida, are central players in trying to forge a comprehensive immigration overhaul package.

The New York Times

Mr. Prewitt will be central as the university tries to meld the graduate faculty more closely with Eugene Lang College, the undergraduate college with about 500 students, which university officials would like to double in size.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "be central to trying", ensure the context clearly defines what 'trying' refers to. Vague usage weakens the phrase's impact. For example, specify 'trying to achieve a goal' rather than just 'trying'.

Common error

Avoid embedding "be central to trying" within overly complex sentences. This can make the phrase seem more awkward than it is. Simplify sentence structure for clarity.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "be central to trying" functions as a predicate adjective phrase, modifying a noun or pronoun to indicate its importance or necessity in an attempt. Ludwig AI suggests the phrase is acceptable, although not the most elegant phrasing.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

48%

Science

24%

Wiki

12%

Less common in

Formal & Business

8%

Reference

4%

Encyclopedias

4%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "be central to trying" is used to highlight the importance of something in relation to an attempt or effort. While Ludwig AI indicates the phrase is understandable, it also identifies it as somewhat awkward and suggests clearer alternatives may exist. Usage is more frequent in news and media and scientific contexts. When using this phrase, ensure that the context is clear and consider if a simpler phrasing might improve clarity. The phrase is considered acceptable, but writers should aim for precision and conciseness in their writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

be crucial in attempting

Replaces "central" with "crucial", emphasizing the importance, and rephrases "to trying" to "in attempting" for grammatical variation.

be essential to attempting

Substitutes "central" with "essential", highlighting necessity, and rewords "to trying" as "to attempting" for variety.

be vital in trying

Replaces "central" with "vital", stressing indispensability, and keeps "trying" but uses "in" instead of "to".

be pivotal to attempting

Changes "central" to "pivotal", indicating a turning point, and alters "to trying" to "to attempting".

be key to trying

Simplifies "central" to "key", indicating primary importance.

be fundamental to attempting

Replaces "central" with "fundamental", emphasizing foundational importance, and uses "to attempting" for variation.

be integral to trying

Substitutes "central" with "integral", stressing the part is necessary to complete the whole, keep "trying".

be paramount when attempting

Changes "central" to "paramount", stressing supreme importance and replaces "to trying" to "when attempting".

be a focus of trying

Shifts the structure to emphasize "focus" rather than centrality, keep "trying".

be at the heart of trying

Uses a more idiomatic expression, replacing "central" with "at the heart", indicating core importance, keep "trying".

FAQs

What does "be central to trying" mean?

It means to be a necessary, key, or very important component of an attempt or effort.

How can I rephrase "be central to trying" for better clarity?

Consider using phrases like "be crucial in attempting", "be essential to attempting", or "be key to trying".

Is "be central to trying" grammatically correct?

While understandable, it's not the most elegant phrasing. Ludwig AI suggests that the phrase can be improved for better clarity and flow, but it's generally acceptable.

In what contexts is it appropriate to use "be central to trying"?

It's suitable in contexts where you want to emphasize the importance of something in an ongoing effort or attempt. However, ensure there isn't a clearer or more concise alternative.