make an effort
Dianne: I have a friend-of-a-friend visiting from Finland tomorrow. But I’m worried because he only speaks Finnish.
Walter: My cousin’s wife is Finnish. I could make an effort to contact her and ask if she can help.
Dianne: Could you do that? It would be great if she could help out.
Explanation: To “make an effort” to do something means to try to help, but it also means that there isn't a guarantee of success.
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