When do we use 'I hope so' and 'I hope not'? Is there a rule?

[Detlef]

Hi everyone

Last week I was listening to a conversation

Man: 'Kris, I didn't do any business with Miss O'Kane.'
Woman: 'I certainly hope not'

My question is, when do we use I hope so/ I hope not. Is there a rule?

Thank you
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The Importance Of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) I just love him!

[Cerberus™]

I hope so: I hope that the situation is as stated.
I hope not: I hope that situation is not as stated.

The question is, whether or not the negation in "didn't" is included in the statement that falls under "I hope not", i.e. whether or not the negation is included in the situation that I hope is not true.

I hope not could be interpreted in two ways:
- I hope that it is not so that you didn't do business with Miss O'Kane. (= "I hope that you did...", since double negative equals positive)
Or:
- I hope that it is not so that you did business with Miss O'Kane. (= "I hope that you didn't...")

The second one is standard. In general, when you say "I hope not" to a negative statement, you agree that what the other person said is undesirable; the "not" is an echo of the negation in the original sentence, not a new "not" to negate the original negation.
You wouldn't really say "I hope so" to a negative statement under normal circumstances.

In your example, the word "certainly" makes the meaning quite clear; in other cases, it is better to echo "didn't" (or another auxiliary verb) in such a response than to say "I hope not": you could say "I hope you didn't", which means you hope that I didn't do any business with her.

When you hope that a negative statement is untrue, you could say "but I hope that he does/is/etc.". The word "but" can be a sign of disagreement here.
A: Richard probably won't marry Antoinette.
B: Oh, but I hope that he will do so after all!

To a positive statement, you could say either "I hope so" or "I hope not": "I hope so" agrees with its desirability; "I hope not" denies its desirability.

[Detlef]

Hi Alan,

I've sent you this message before, but probably something went wrong in sending it.

I heard a conversation between a man and woman on television

Man: ' I didn't do any business with O'Kane.'
Woman 'I certainly hope not.'

Is there a rule about how to use these two items?

Detlef
_________________
The Importance Of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) I just love him!

[Esl_Expert]

Hello Detlef,

Cerberbus went to the of trouble of posting a very detailed explanation of "I hope so" and "I hope not" for you. To simply post again, and ask someone else to answer the very same question without even acknowledging Cerberus's post is extremely rude, in my opinion.

In short, "I hope so" can be used to agree with or support a situation that has just been mentioned/stated. In this case, the verb used to state the situation would usually not have been negated (i.e. usually after an affirmative statement).
"I hope not" can be used to emphatically agree with or support a statement in which the verb was negated (i.e. usually after a negative statement).
To me, this would be the most common usage when "I hope so" and "I hope not" are used in response to a non-question.

In your specific example, "I certainly hope not" means that the speaker strongly believes that "didn't do any business with O'Kane" was a very good and desirable thing to do, and that doing business with O'Kane would have been an extremely bad/undesirable thing to do.

In addition to what Cerberus has written, I would also mention that "I hope so" and I hope not" are very often used in response to "yes/no" questions. When "so" is used, it is a short form of a response which would have included an affirmative verb. And when "not" is used, it is a short form of a response which would have included a negated verb. For example:

A: Did he pass the test?
B: I hope so! Flunking that test would mean that he would also flunk the course.
(i.e. I hope he passed the test.)

A1: Did he flunk the test?
B2: I hope not! Flunking that test would mean that he would also flunk the course.
(i.e. I hope he did not flunk the test.)

---------------------------------

C: Are you going to John's party?
D: I hope so, but I'm not a hundred percent sure whether or not I will be able to. I might have to work overtime that day.
(i.e. That I go to John's party is desirable to me. I hope I go.)

C1: Is Mike going to John's party?
D1: I hope not! He always ends up getting into an argument with someone and spoils the fun.
(i.e. That Mike does not go to John's party is desirable to me. = I hope Mike does not go.)

Please also read Cerberus's post again. If you still do not understand, try to be specific about what you don't understand.
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“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” ~ Albert Einstein

[Cerberus™]

Thanks for sticking up for me, EE; but that's alright, I don't mind. I actually laughed when I saw that post of his.
It is not entirely impossible that my post was just too long; to the inexperienced reader, long blabs of text may be a bit daunting, especially if they contain some long words and long sentences. Perhaps he just wanted a short and simple answer - which there is not, but he didn't know that. I guess I also didn't get to the point as soon as I could have.

Good call on the yes-no questions.