JasonWu
83 post s
1-Jun-2008
6:47 PM
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Someitme I hear people say: They/I may be hoping that... Is there any different between "may hope" or "may be hoping"? And which one is more common in conversation? Thank you very much for your help.
Last Edited on 1-Jun-2008 9:52 PM
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CeeBee
1802 post s
1-Jun-2008
8:19 PM
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I never hear "may hope" or "may be hoping." I hear only "I hope."
Last Edited on 1-Jun-2008 8:20 PM
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Sparky
782 post s
2-Jun-2008
6:57 AM
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Sometimes I'll hear something like "May I hope to hear from you soon?" This literally means "Do I have your permission to hope to hear from you soon?" and really means "I am politely asking you to contact me soon."
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Pogo
403 post s
2-Jun-2008
11:59 AM
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They may hope the aftershocks will stop (they can hope, but that won't make it more likely). They may be hoping that the aftershocks will stop (but they, as well as we, know it isn't likely).
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JasonWu
85 post s
2-Jun-2008
8:31 PM
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What confuses me is why some people use the present continuous with words like "hope" and "think".
I found an example in a book named Good Chat by Lynne Sandsberry, Paul Sorenson and John Ring.
However, if the parents themselves prefer televsision to books, or pop music to Beethoven, they may be hoping that the children will "do as we say, not as we do."I used google and typed in "may be thinking" and "may be hoping," and I found out 64,300 and 12,700 references respectively. So, the usage of "may be Ving" does exist, but I don't know what that means. Sometimes I got caught there in class when students asked me why the present continuous aspect was used, I counldn't explain it for sure. So, is it idiomatic to say "Sb may be thinking/hoping..."? Note: As CeeBee points out, there should be quotation marks around "do as we say, not as we do." The sentence in the book has quotation marks, I mistyped the line. Thank you, CeeBee. Thanks so much for your help.
Last Edited on 3-Jun-2008 12:54 AM
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CeeBee
1806 post s
2-Jun-2008
9:25 PM
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However, if the parents themselves prefer televsision to books, or pop music to Beethoven, they may be hoping that the children will do as we say, not as we do. I suspect the presence of "if" in the dependent clause is what is causing the writer to use "may be hoping"--conditional. What if we substitute "when" or "because" (both concrete) for "if"? However, when the parents themselves prefer televsision to books, or pop music to Beethoven, they hope that the children will "do as we say, not as we do." However, because the parents themselves prefer televsision to books, or pop music to Beethoven, they hope that the children will "do as we say, not as we do." Note: I edited and put quote marks around the quoted saying. Otherwise, in order to work with the rest of the sentence, it should be "...children will do as they say, not as they do."
Last Edited on 2-Jun-2008 9:28 PM
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Dalton
2 post s
4-Jun-2008
8:50 AM
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However, CeeBee, when you re-write the sentence to eliminate "may," you eliminate a possible interpretation of the original sentence -- that, while many parents may hope their children will "do as we say, not as we do," others may be perfectly happy with children who prefer TV to books. Eliminating the conditional implies that all "parents who prefer" have the same hope.
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JasonWu
86 post s
4-Jun-2008
4:46 PM
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Thanks to all for your help.
But my question remains: 1)Is it common to say "I/Sb may be hoping/thinking that..."? 2)Is there any difference between "may hope/think" and "may be hoping/thinking"?
Last Edited on 4-Jun-2008 4:49 PM
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CeeBee
1813 post s
4-Jun-2008
9:23 PM
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1)Is it common to say "I/Sb may be hoping/thinking that..."?
It's used depending on what the speaker wants to get across to his listener. There's nothing wrong with it.2)Is there any difference between "may hope/think" and "may be hoping/thinking"?
No.
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