Would you use "hopefully" like this in a sentence:
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I know of the objections to this use of hopefully but I don't care. It feels natural to me. And I've just realised that German has "hoffentlich" for this use case and does not need to say "hoffnungsvoll" - possibly a word that English lost at some point?
@sista_ray @grammargirl The objections make no sense to me. It seems no different from "fortunately", "apparently", "oddly", "obviously", "unusually", etc. I don't think anyone would interpret "Fortunately, the treaty was ratified" as saying the treaty experienced good fortune, for example. The adverb obviously applies to the situation expressed by the whole clause, not just to one element within it.
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@sista_ray @grammargirl The objections make no sense to me. It seems no different from "fortunately", "apparently", "oddly", "obviously", "unusually", etc. I don't think anyone would interpret "Fortunately, the treaty was ratified" as saying the treaty experienced good fortune, for example. The adverb obviously applies to the situation expressed by the whole clause, not just to one element within it.
@sista_ray @grammargirl "Hopefully" *could* theoretically be interpreted as referring to the treaty itself, but I don't find that a natural way of reading it.
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@grammargirl I answered “yes,” but I hate it.
In less conversational writing, I’d probably reword it to say “I hope the treaty will be ratified” because saying “I am hopeful the treaty will be ratified” just makes you sound like an awkward pedant.
@ramsey @grammargirl For me that would change the meaning, though—I see "hopefully" more like "it is to be hoped that . . . " or "it seems reasonable to hope and cautiously expect that . . . ", I'd say. It's a comment about the appropriateness of hope, not a statement that a particular person is experiencing hope.
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Would you use "hopefully" like this in a sentence:
Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified.
(I'm going to compare how people feel about this sentence today to an older survey that used the same sentence.)
@grammargirl Yes, unless I suspected the audience would misinterpret me. I ENJOY using the word that way, because it drove my dad CRAZY.
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Would you use "hopefully" like this in a sentence:
Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified.
(I'm going to compare how people feel about this sentence today to an older survey that used the same sentence.)
@grammargirl I grew up hearing in used in the way I now know is wrong — and try to avoid. It’s not easy to change, though.
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Would you use "hopefully" like this in a sentence:
Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified.
(I'm going to compare how people feel about this sentence today to an older survey that used the same sentence.)
@grammargirl added context, I think my hopefully usage is often near the end of a sentence
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Would you use "hopefully" like this in a sentence:
Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified.
(I'm going to compare how people feel about this sentence today to an older survey that used the same sentence.)
@grammargirl no.
If it means anything, it means "the treaty will be ratified in a hopeful manner", and not "we hope the treaty will be ratified" (which is what a sentence like that usually seems to intend).
