Hopefully Speaking

Hopefully Speaking Hopefully Speaking Hopefully Speaking By Sharon Pedantry or laxity? Upholding standards or lapsing into colloquialism? When it comes to using hopefully, these are the terms that are often thrown around. Heres why. As an adverb, hopefully originally meant in a hopeful manner (example: the dog waited hopefully for a bone) and that is still the primary meaning given in most dictionaries. That usage corresponds with other similar adverbial usage, such as happily (in a happy manner) or miserably (in a miserable manner). Those who are sticklers for correct and standard usage maintain that this is the only proper way to use hopefully. However, much of the world disagrees. The use of hopefully as a sentence modifier to mean it is hoped that has been around since the 1930s and has been in common use since the 1960s. The analogy here is with words like mercifully (example: Mercifully, the concert was short) and frankly (example: Frankly, I dont care what you think). Thanks to more than 75 years of colloquial usage, the second meaning is now standard in both speech and writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly WordsConfused Words #3: Lose, Loose, LossTypes of Ignorance