Today, let’s have a look at expect and hope. Do you know the difference between them?
We use expect when we believe something will happen. There is a logical reason for expecting something, such as a schedule, trend, or habit:
- I’m expecting to see Jack today. He always comes to visit on Sundays. (habit)
- Her flight is expected to arrive at 2:00. (schedule)
- All of his movies are great, so I expect this new one to be great too. (trend)
- We are expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow. (trend)
On the other hand, we use hope when we would like something to happen. There is an emotional reason for hoping for something.
- I hope to see Jack today. He’s always busy on Sundays, but if he can come to visit, it would be great!
- I hope her flight is not late. I’m so excited to see her.
- His last few movies were terrible. I hope this one is good.
- I hope we don’t have a lot of snow tomorrow. I need to drive to Boston.
So expect comes from what we know (reality) and hope comes from what we would like:
- I expect the boss to be angry about this month’s sales, but I hope he doesn’t fire anyone.
- We are expecting a snowstorm tomorrow, but I hope it is not so strong.
Keep in mind the best way to remember this or any vocabulary in English is to take the word or phrase write it in a sentence that’s true for you or true in your world and then memorize your sentences.
You can even take your sentences and write them in the comments below. I would love to see your examples. And if you really want help with vocabulary, sign up for my free vocabulary workshop (see below).
If you know anyone who might be interested in this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them. Thanks for studying today!
FREE Vocabulary Workshop
Learn how to get, learn, and remember vocabulary
Building vocabulary is the key to speaking more fluently and with more confidence.
- Where and how to get new words
- The best way to study and learn your new words
- How to own your new vocabulary
My students tell me that it’s easy to learn new vocabulary words, but really difficult to remember them when you need to use them. Now, I’ll show you how to do both!
Start really building your vocabulary today! (Free PDF download included)
Comments 8
I am expecting my result tomorrow.
Though I did not perform well in the papers I hope I will good grades.
Zahid, nice work!
FYI: Usually we use “get” as the verb before grades:
“I hope I will get good grades”
Thanks 🙂
Hi Sergio…Thanks for the info and idea. I’ll answer that in my next post 🙂
My doubt is about expect and supposed to in phrases like: weren’t you expected to be on vacation now or weren’t you suuposed to be on vacation now?
First, when I saw this blog I didn’t expected that we’ll get such a lovely posts but now I am expecting more and more articles.
I hope we’ll get good posts everyday. I’m so excited to read and hoping to write sentences on every post and expecting to review by Michael.
Pardeep, I hope you continue being such an enthusiastic reader!
Wonderful! Just what I need for one of my groups. Small mistake you made: but I hope it is now so strong – should be ‘not’ so strong.
Thanks Chaya, You’re a pro at finding my typos 🙂