And, after a comma - acceptable or not?

Higgy90

i think "I really was hoping..." should be "I was really hoping..."

Actually both are standard, or 'correct' terms. The order of elements in a standard English sentence go S(Subject- the person doing the action) V(Verb- the action) O(Object-what the verb is relating to; so you'd kick the ball) so:

He (Subject) went (verb) to town (object).

In both sentences "I really was hoping" and "I was really hoping" the verbs 'was' and 'helping' are in the right place- the adverb 'really' is fine in either case. :smile:

Reply 21

alex_hk90

19

jmj

In both sentences "I really was hoping" and "I was really hoping" the verbs 'was' and 'helping' are in the right place- the adverb 'really' is fine in either case. :smile:

But there is a slight difference in meaning between the two sentences, right? :smile:

Reply 22

jmj

2

alex_hk90

But there is a slight difference in meaning between the two sentences, right? :smile:

I guess you could say there is a difference in emphasis- the first one is a bit more formal I think- so yeah, there is a slight difference, but it basically means the same thing. :smile:

Reply 23

alex_hk90

19

jmj

I guess you could say there is a difference in emphasis- the first one is a bit more formal I think- so yeah, there is a slight difference, but it basically means the same thing. :smile:

What I was thinking is that for the first one the 'really' applies to the 'was' while in the second it applies to the 'hoping'. :smile:

PS: This is serious procrastination even by my standards. :o:

Reply 24

jmj

2

alex_hk90

What I was thinking is that for the first one the 'really' applies to the 'was' while in the second it applies to the 'hoping'. :smile:

PS: This is serious procrastination even by my standards. :o:

Well, in both the utterances, they are both related to 'hoping' as 'was' is an auxiliary verb, which is like a helper verb that aids the main verb. So whichever way you put it, it applies to both. However, I would say that 'really was' sounds more formal, and places more emphasis on 'was'.

Hehe, procrastination is my middle name sometimes, don't worry about it :p:

It's 10 to midnight on a Saturday anyway, it's not like we're going to be doing work at the mo! :biggrin:

Reply 25

Izzyhalsall

Original post by alex_hk90

But there is a slight difference in meaning between the two sentences, right? :smile:

The first states emphasis on how much hope there was, "I was REALLY hoping" and the second is used to ensure hope was actually there. "I REALLY was hoping",
You'd find that the latter is used when trying to persuade someone that they was hoping.

Reply 26

alex_hk90

19

Original post by Izzyhalsall

The first states emphasis on how much hope there was, "I was REALLY hoping" and the second is used to ensure hope was actually there. "I REALLY was hoping",
You'd find that the latter is used when trying to persuade someone that they was hoping.