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Hope to get this conversation going



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
meaning of "flipping fins" | adopt vs adjust
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Hope to get this conversation going #1 (permalink) Fri Feb 13, 2009 19:53 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Hope to get this conversation going.

What is wrong with it? I could find only one result when I googled it. Don't we use this often?
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Hope to get this conversation going #2 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 6:34 am   Hope to get this conversation going
 

.
Just too long a phrase to get good numbers of hits, I think. Seems OK to me.
.
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Hope to get this conversation going #3 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 17:11 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Although its grammar seems fine, I wonder in what situation you would use this phrase? The word "this" probably indicates that the the person saying the phrase is actually in this conversation himself. But if he is talking about getting it going, it has not even started yet. And he probably would not say it as part of the pre-conversation anyway, because that would very awkward. That's why it may be an uncommon phrase as it is.
It gets nearly impossible if "hope" stands for "I hope".

Perhaps you could use this phrase when writing a story: "Peter almost bumped into Mary in the refectory. He made an attempt at conversation, but he was so nervous he kept stumbling over his words. Nevertheless, he still had hope that she would like him. Hope to get this conversation going. To impress her with his wit and knowledge. Surely she must like him then!"
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Hope to get this conversation going #4 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 17:23 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

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That sentence popped up when I was concluding a message and I wanted to convey that I would like to continue that (written) conversation. So, what do you think is appropriate there?

Even now, can I use -- hope to get the conversation (this one) going? (at this place?)
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Gray
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Hope to get this conversation going #5 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 17:27 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

[Edit: I'm sorry, I hadn't read your reply yet when I wrote this.]

Or perhaps: "I run into my professor at the gym. We start talking. I try to gain his interest, hope to get this conversation going. But he seems rather in a hurry, and says he'd like to talk to me another time. I'll see him again in class anyway, so it doesn't really matter."
A story written like a diary, where the protagonist's thoughts are given in the present tense and from the first-person perspective.
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Hope to get this conversation going #6 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 17:34 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Hoping to get the conversation going implies that it might take some effort to start it off, that's why I wouldn't say it to someone.
Why not say "continue", as came to you naturally when you just described it? "I hope we may continue our conversation" would seem a better, more natural choice. Or you could just leave it out and let the message speak for itself: if you wrote questions or stimulating remarks, the other person will surely continue the conversation.
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Hope to get this conversation going #7 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 17:41 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Oh, that is really interesting -- being concise and still implying the continuity in the conversation.

By the way, what Cerberus is?
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Hope to get this conversation going #8 (permalink) Sat Feb 14, 2009 19:48 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Cerberus is the three-headed giant hound who guards the exit of the underworld against escaping souls in ancient Greek mythology. Cerberus is the Latinized form of Greek /Kerberos/.
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Hope to get this conversation going #9 (permalink) Sun Feb 15, 2009 17:46 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Cerberus™ wrote:
Cerberus is the three-headed giant hound who guards the exit of the underworld against escaping souls in ancient Greek mythology. Cerberus is the Latinized form of Greek /Kerberos/.


Oh, now I know why computer security people borrowed "Kerberos" :)
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Hope to get this conversation going #10 (permalink) Sun Feb 15, 2009 20:53 pm   Hope to get this conversation going
 

Ah, yes! I did not even know that, but I think you are right.
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