Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: for
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question checks your knowledge of the correct preposition used with hope in English. The original sentence says Everyone hoped of good weather on the day of the wedding, which sounds slightly wrong to a fluent speaker. Exams frequently test such collocations where a specific preposition must follow a common verb, and even small mistakes can change how natural the sentence appears.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In standard English usage, we say hope for something when we are wishing that it will happen. For example, We hope for peace, or They hoped for a quick recovery. The structure hope of something is not normally used in this sense. Therefore, the natural phrase in the sentence should be hoped for good weather. The prepositions at and about also do not collocate correctly with hope in this context, leaving for as the correct choice.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the verb hope and recall common phrases like hope for the best.
Step 2: Recognise that the sentence is about wishing for good weather on a specific day.
Step 3: Replace of with for to express the correct relationship between hope and the object good weather.
Step 4: Read the corrected sentence: Everyone hoped for good weather on the day of the wedding.
Step 5: Confirm that this version is fluent and idiomatic.
Verification / Alternative check:
Compare with standard expressions: She hoped for success, We are hoping for rain, and They hoped for a miracle. Each sentence uses hope for, not hope of, when followed by a desired outcome. If we try Everyone hoped at good weather or hoped about good weather, both combinations sound wrong and are not used in normal English. Thus, only hoped for good weather matches the usual pattern, confirming for as the correct answer.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
At is typically used with time or place, as in at noon or at the station, and does not form a correct collocation with hope in this meaning.
About is used when talking about the subject of worry or discussion, as in worried about the exam or talking about the plan, but hope about good weather is not a standard phrase.
No improvement would keep the incorrect preposition of, which does not fit the usual verb preposition pattern of hope for something.
Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes confuse hope for and hope to, where hope to is followed by a verb, as in I hope to meet you, and hope for is followed by a noun, as in I hope for good news. Remember this distinction: hope for + noun and hope to + verb. In this question, because good weather is a noun phrase, for is the correct preposition.
Final Answer:
The correct improvement is for, giving: Everyone hoped for good weather on the day of the wedding.
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