Adverbs and adjectives have a way of undoing us grammatically. People commonly say good when they mean well, real when they mean really, and (today’s subject, class) hopefully when they mean hopeful.
Simple rule: abandon hopefully!
How common is: “Hopefully, Mary will come to our meeting on time”? What the speaker intends (in most cases) to say is that he or she hopes Mary will not be late, but what he or she has said (if we apply the rule) is that Mary will be full of hope when she arrives.
Hopefully is an adverb and can modify only a verb, adjective, or other adverb. In our sentence above, it modifies will come (the verb phrase) and therefore means that Mary is arriving in high spirits. To make it right is to make it simple! “I hope Mary will come to our meeting on time.” Direct, to the point, and uncomplicated.
If you find it difficult to remember adverb/adjective rules, make it simple: dump hopefully and substitute I hope. You may even save yourself a syllable.
Note: On a recent visit from Toronto my daughter said, “Dad, the reigning monarch is a woman!” With red face I am here to say, I never even gave it a thought. My formative years were spent with a Mom who often said, “Please do not butcher the King’s English!” The rest is history.
Simple rule: abandon hopefully!
How common is: “Hopefully, Mary will come to our meeting on time”? What the speaker intends (in most cases) to say is that he or she hopes Mary will not be late, but what he or she has said (if we apply the rule) is that Mary will be full of hope when she arrives.
Hopefully is an adverb and can modify only a verb, adjective, or other adverb. In our sentence above, it modifies will come (the verb phrase) and therefore means that Mary is arriving in high spirits. To make it right is to make it simple! “I hope Mary will come to our meeting on time.” Direct, to the point, and uncomplicated.
If you find it difficult to remember adverb/adjective rules, make it simple: dump hopefully and substitute I hope. You may even save yourself a syllable.
Note: On a recent visit from Toronto my daughter said, “Dad, the reigning monarch is a woman!” With red face I am here to say, I never even gave it a thought. My formative years were spent with a Mom who often said, “Please do not butcher the King’s English!” The rest is history.
– Ken Butera