Convincing, persuading, and Expressing Hope

Convince & Persuade

Stuart Cook March 19, 2012

The verbs ‘convince’ and ‘persuade’ are very similar in meaning, but there is a difference in how we use them.

After ‘persuade’ we use the structure
to + infinitive:

§  I persuaded them to stay for another drink.

§  He persuaded her not to take the job.

After ‘convince’ we cannot use a verb infinitive. We say ‘convince someone that‘:

§  She convinced the police that she was telling the truth.

§  He convinced her that it was the right thing to do.

Both of the above sentence would also be correct without ‘that':

·  She convinced the police she was telling the truth.

·  He convinced her it was the right thing to do.

Meaning

There can also be a subtle difference in meaning between ‘convince’ and ‘persuade’, as seen here:

Although Robert finally persuaded his girlfriend to move abroad with him, she was not fully convinced that it was the best thing to do.

In the example, Robert’s girlfriend was persuaded (to move) but was not convinced (that it was the correct decision). So, we can see that when we persuade someone to do something it doesn’t always mean that we have also convinced that person.

One more thing is worth mentioning about ‘persuade’ and ‘convince’. If we are absolutely sure about something, we say I’m convinced:

– Are you sure he’s innocent?
– Yes, I’m convinced. NOT I’m persuaded

Some related words:
convincing (adjective)  It was a convincing argument.
persuasive (adjective) Marta can be very persuasive when she wants.
persuasion (noun) He used his powers of persuasion.

If you have any questions about ‘convince’ and ‘persuade’, please leave a comment below. I always read comments and try to reply to them all.

Source: http://speakspeak.com/confusing-words/convince-and-persuade

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

Hope

from English Grammar Today

Hope is a verb and a noun.

Hope as a verb

After hope, we often use present verb forms even when there is reference to the future:

We hope she passes her driving test next week.

I just hope the bus is on time tomorrow.

Warning:

We don’t normally use hope in the negative:

I hope it doesn’t rain.

Not: I don’t hope it rains.

The past continuous of hope is used to make polite statements and, especially, polite requests:

I was hoping to have a word with you, Professor O’Malley.

We were hoping you could lend us your car while you were in America.

Hope as a noun

We can use hope as a countable noun:

In 1938, there was still a hope that war could be avoided.

After the election, their hopes were high, but five years later nothing has changed.

When we mean hope in general, we do not use an article:

You must never give up hope.

Not: You must never give up the hope.

Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/hope