Friday, January 17, 2014

Wait a Minute !

Wait, hope, expect...en inglés existe una palabra distinta para cada "tipo de espera". El post de hoy  te ayudará a aclarar algunas  dudas sobre su uso.

You may not expect much from this post, but we still hope to give you a few tips to improve your English. As you may have guessed by now, this is about the difference between wait, hope and expect.


Wait, Hope, Expect. When you WAIT FOR something, you let some time pass before it happens (normally without doing much):
I’m waiting for John (to come) = I am spending some time until John comes.
He had to wait for the bus for over an hour = An hour went by until the bus came.
She waited for the rain to stop = She did not move until the rain stopped.
Don’t forget to use the preposition for with wait to introduce the thing or person you wait for.
We waited for John.
We waited for the bus.
Notice that the following structure is common after wait:
To wait for + SUBJ. + to + INFINITIVE
I am waiting FOR Peter TO come and pick me up.

When you HOPE that something will happen, you wish/want it to happen.
I hope (that) you are doing well in London = I wish that you are doing well in London.
He hopes to get the job = He wants to get the job (and thinks he might get it).
You often use hope followed by a clause in the future tense (will):
I hope (that) he will be a good husband.


When you EXPECT something to happen, you think it is the most probable thing to happen:
Rain is expected for Monday and Tuesday. = It is very probable that it will rain on Monday and Tuesday.
We expect him to come at eight. = We think he will come at eight.
Notice that the following structure is common after expect:
To expect + SUBJ. + to + INFINITIVE
I expect HER to come and pick me up.

Practice 1: Choose one of the verbs in brackets to fill in the blanks:
(a) I ______________ (expect/hope/wait) he does well tomorrow at the exam.
(b) I _________________ (expected/hoped/waited) her to pick me up at the station, but she wasn’t there.
(c) I ________________ (expect/hope/wait) they come soon, otherwise we won’t get to the wedding in time.

(d) The train was so late that I had to ________________ (expect/hope/wait) at the station for half an hour.

Answer key: 
Practice 1: (a) hope; (b) expected; (c) hope; (d) wait.  

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