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Using to 'wait'? or 'to expect'? - English lesson
I) WAIT is used to express a time spent in a place until something happens:
- She's always late... I'm tired of waiting...
1. WAIT is always followed by FOR in front of a noun or pronoun.
- He's not home... He's waiting for his bus to school...
2. The expression “I can't wait for + noun/to + verb” = I'm looking forward to doing something... it shows impatience.
- I can't wait for my sister to arrive.
- I can't wait to go to Italy...
3. WAIT FOR is only used in the active form:
- He's waiting for the train to come. (the passive form is here impossible)
II) EXPECT means to anticipate, to believe and hope.
- He's expecting a phone call from you asap. (as soon as possible).
* But it can also be translated by other verbs such as to plan, to think, to suppose:
- I expect (that) she will understand my absence.
III) How to build to WAIT and to EXPECT:
1. Both may be followed by an infinitive clause:
- He's waiting for you to confirm what he said.
- She's expecting her kids to tell her the whole truth.
2. Followed by a subordinate clause, the meaning of EXPECT is weakened into to suppose
- I expect you're sure of what you're saying!
3. WAIT may also introduce a subordinate clause (without weakening it), introduced by until = till
- I'll wait till he arrives at last.
4. EXPECT may be built in the active and passive forms:
- Is he expected to deliver a speech at his arrival?



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