Does 〜ようにする mean both 'make sure' and 'try'? (Grammar reference clarification)


On pg554 of Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, it says that [sic] `〜ようにする
(to try to ~)` is an idiomatic use of `〜ように (so that ~)`. However, pg562 gives
the meaning `〜ようにする (to make sure that ~)`.

It seems to me that they have mistaken `〜ようにする` with the volitional `V[よう]＋とする
(to try to ~)`, which does not appear in DBJG but appears in other grammar
resources.

Am I right that this is a mistake, or does 〜ようにする also mean "to try to"?




The way I've understood it, although ように means something like "so that", the
reason it overlaps with "try" is that often you are making an attempt, and do
not have full control over the situation.

The grammar dictionary lists that ように is common with potential and negative
verbs. For instance, consider:

> なるべく会わないようにしよう。
>
> I will try as much as possible / make sure that I don't meet anyone

なるべく should make this even more clear. Yes, you have made sure that you won't
meet anyone. But you can't be sure of that. I'm not a native speaker or even
that fluent, but I think:

> 会わないことにしよう

Sounds pretty strange.

Similarly:

> まずは字を読めるようにしないと。
>
> First I have to make the letters readable.

And again, you don't seem to have full control over the situation. To contrast
with ようとする:

> 私だって声かけようとしてたんだから！
>
> I also tried to talk to him!

Again, just my opinion, but this sounds better than 声かけるようにしてた. It seems to me
that ようとする is better for cases especially after you've tried. For instance,
before trying to talk to him, you probably wouldn't expect it to be hard. But
let's say you were trying to get opportunities to talk to him. Then I think:

> 声かけるようにする

Is ok, and then after the fact:

> 声かけようとした

When ようとする is in the past tense it sounds like it was a failure. If you use
ようとする before the event, it kind of sounds like... although you have control
over the situation, you expect it to be hard. Like for instance, if you go to
lift a weight but you expect to be too weak to lift it. Note however that in
this case てみる might be more appropriate.

In summary:

  * ように meaning "so that" sounds like although you are going to do something to accomplish something else, you don't have full control over the situation.
  * ようとする is especially common after the fact to say that you tried to do something but failed.
  * ようとする doesn't seem that common before the event, since てみる seems to be preferred, but it just sounds like you expect to try but maybe you lack the ability or skills necessary (which is a direct consequence of you: it's not as though someone else makes the situation uncontrollable).

