The end has come; AP has approved ‘hopefully’

Parent Cafe
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<p>^ hahaha. </p>

<p>Truth be told, I did not know there was any controversy around “hopefully”. Not a single teacher or professor has ever corrected my use of it. What was the issue?</p>

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<p>At this point in time, I have finally orientated myself to the fact that “hopefully” is hear to stay.</p>

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<p>^^Not sure of jm is being humorous or not (hard to tell on the internet). </p>

<p>I thought it was “moot” point.</p>

<p>I had no idea there was anything wrong with the word hopefully. I use it all the time.</p>

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<p>Since it’s use became so widespread, no wonder its been approved!</p>

<p>(:p)</p>

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<p>I want to hear an alternate opinion.</p>

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<p>Hopefully, the fighting over this issue can now cease.</p>

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<p>It’s a healthful change.</p>

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<p>I don’t have a serious problem with “hopefully,” and can accept the idea that it may be viewed as a legitimate example of the evolution of the English language, but I will always take serious issue with “your” being used instead of the contraction, “you’re.” I daily witness any number of otherwise educated people using the former when they actually mean the latter. I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen this word misused by the denizens of CC, even kids who boast 500s on their AP English exams. Likewise, as Romangypsyeyes pointed out, the blithe misuse of the homophones, “there”, “they’re” and “their” just about drive me crazy.</p>

<p>Here is an excellent reference for writers that may help them avoid many common usage abuses: Garner’s Modern American Usage
[Amazon.com:</a> Garner’s Modern American Usage (9780195382754): Bryan A. Garner: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Garners-Modern-American-Usage-Garner/dp/0195382757/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334810059&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Garners-Modern-American-Usage-Garner/dp/0195382757/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334810059&sr=1-1)</p>

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<p>I’m reticent to mention it, but just between you and I, H corrects me on this one all the time.
And I’m an English teacher. Hopefully he’ll get over it now and stop saying “It is to be hoped,” or “One hopes. . .”</p>

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<p>I never even knew that hopefully wasn’t a proper word…</p>

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<p>On a more colloquial note, the phrase “went missing” is often used in (sad) news stories. How can a person “go missing”?</p>

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<p>Language evolves. This is a surprise?</p>

<p>“Since 'tis Nature’s law to change, Constancy alone is strange.” ~ John Wilmot</p>

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<p>Add me to the list of those who never knew that “hopefully” was an issue…</p>

<p>You learn something new every day, hopefully.</p>

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<p>I’m with you, poetsheart. (And let’s not forget it’s/its.) Long ago, I read somewhere that if a student hasn’t mastered the difference between “your” and “you’re” by the time they leave elementary school, it just won’t happen.</p>

<p>I don’t have any gadget that auto-corrects spelling. But might auto-correct devices be responsible for some of the misuse of these words? ( … she inquired hopefully?)</p>

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<p>Come to find out—we’re all illiterate.</p>

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<p>I just installed a grammar checker plugin for Firefox and tried several phrases with errors. It only caught really obvious problems like your/you’re, its/its. It didn’t catch “two often we came here by car”.</p>

<p>The grammar checker in Microsoft Office is pretty good. I will do some hunting to see if there are better checkers out there for Firefox.</p>

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<p>

Oh it’s a proper word. The issue is with the way the word gets used. So it’s okay to say “The ball player stepped up to the plate hopefully,” meaning he was full of hope, but it’s not okay to say “Hopefully he’ll hit a home run,” meaning “It is to be hoped”.</p>

<p>I know the difference between your/you’re, but I have occasionally mistyped them and cringed when I saw my post later. I also seem to drop a lot of final s’s when I type. I don’t know why.</p>

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<p>Congradulations to whichever person approved this. It’s a mute point anyway since most people don’t know what rules of grammer are for.</p>

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<p>I think the fuss over this is ludacris. Everyone should be free to use language in their own way. After all, new words are just based off of old words. And don’t we all want to boldly go into the future?</p>

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<p>This whole thread made my daughter and I laugh pretty hard - thank you CCers!</p>