What NOAD politely calls "traditionalists" are the same people who fuss over non-issues like ending sentences with prepositions and the like. Attentive ears are particularly bothered when the sentence that follows does not match the promise of the introductory adverb, as when frankly is followed not by an expression of honesty but by a self-serving proclamation ( : frankly, I don't care if you go or not). Although they concede that the battle over hopefully is lost on the popular front, they continue to withhold approval of its use as a sentence adverb. However, most traditionalists take the view that all sentence adverbs are inherently suspect. Sentence adverbs in general ( : frankly,: honestly,: regrettably,: seriously) are found in English since at least the 1600s, and their use has become common in recent decades. This use of hopefully is now the most common one. The first recorded use of hopefully as a sentence adverb, meaning ‘it is to be hoped that’ ( : hopefully, we'll see you tomorrow), appears in 1702 in the : Magnalia Christi Americana, written by Massachusetts theologian and writer Cotton Mather. USAGE The traditional sense of hopefully, ‘in a hopeful manner’ ( : he stared hopefully at the trophy), has been used since 1593. The usually laconic NOAD devotes an entire usage note to it:ġ in a hopeful manner : he rode on hopefully.Ģ it is to be hoped that : hopefully, it should be finished by next year. Actually, there is nothing at all wrong with it.
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