espérer

Espérer is a French verb meaning to hope or to trust that something will happen. It expresses a wish or expectation for a favorable outcome and can be used with a clause introduced by que (indicative) or with an infinitive when the subject is the same.

Etymology and related forms: Esperer comes from Old French esperer, ultimately from Latin sperāre, from spes, spe- “hope.” The root yields the noun espoir (hope). The verb is a regular -er verb in its conjugation, but it has a distinctive accent pattern in the present tense: j’espère, tu espères, il espère; nous espérons, vous espérez, ils espèrent. The past participle is espéré; the present participle is espérant. Subjunctive forms exist: present espère/espérions, and the past subjunctive uses a form like que j’aie espéré.

Usage and constructions: In most contexts, espérer is followed by a clause in the indicative after que, for example, J’espère que tout va bien or J’espère qu’il viendra demain. It can also take an infinitive when the subject is the same, as in J’espère voir mes amis bientôt or J’espère être à l’heure. In negative constructions, the usual ne… pas pattern applies: Je n’espère pas que cela arrive. A common expression is garder espoir (to keep hope) or espérer le meilleur (to hope for the best).

Common contrasts: Espérer expresses a subjective expectation, as opposed to attendre (to wait for or to expect something more concrete) or craindre (to fear). The term is widely used in everyday speech, journalism, and literature, with a neutral to optimistic tone.