Hepster,
A: Do you think that Jane will have a boy?
B: I hope that she has a boy
or
C: I hope that she will have a boy. |
|
With the setup from A, I think B or C are perfectly acceptable.
But what happens if you last saw Jane three months ago and knew that she was due about now.
B) Do you mean you hope that she currently has a baby boy at home now? Or do you mean you hope that she will have a boy?
C) This is clear. You still believe that she is about to deliver.
Try a different example.
1) I hope our children are successful.
Does that mean, "I don't know how my children are doing, because I haven't heard from them in a couple years, but I hope they are happy and successful"?
Does that mean, "I hope my children are successful in their chosen careers after they graduate from school"?
If you saw the sentence....
1b) I hope our children will be successsful.
Does that change your answer to the prior two questions?
Try a different example.
2) I hope they are safe.
If you were referring to the passengers on a jet that just crashed, you mean that you hope that the passengers have managed to survive the crash landing. This is here and now.
If your son and daughter are going to climb a dangerous mountain this weekend, then you hope that they have a safe journey.
To me, it depends on the context. Just food for thought.
MountainHiker