Using esperar que + present subjunctive in Spanish to express hope

Expressing hope in Spanish with esperar que

We use esperar queEl Presente de Subjuntivo to express hope that something happens or will happen.

Read and listen to these examples:

Espero que vengas esta noche.I hope that you will come tonight.

Mi hermano y yo esperamos que tengas mucha suerte con el trabajo.My brother and I hope that you'll have lots of luck with the job.

Espero que sean muy felices en su matrimonio.I hope that they'll be very happy in their marriage.

Los jefes esperan que entendáis la situación.The managers hope that you all understand the situation.

Notice that the English translation is often the same even if no element of hope is included, also while in Spanish the Present tense is used (in the Subjunctive mood), in English the future is most often used:

You will come tonight.
I hope that you will come tonight.

It is grammatically wrong to use El Presente after the verb esperar que!

Espero que sales conmigo al cine. 

Espero que salgas conmigo al cine.I hope that you'll come with me to the cinema.

Note that we use El Presente de Subjuntivo only after que and only if the subjects of each clause are different. When the subjects are the same, we use the infinitive, without que.

Espero que yo viaje a Estados Unidos.

Espero viajar a Estados Unidos.I hope to travel to the USA.

See also Modo subjuntivo

For more advance lessons on "esperar que..." see also:

Using the Spanish present perfect subjunctive after esperar que to express a completed action in the past and Using the Spanish present perfect subjunctive after esperar que to express a completed action in the future

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Examples and resources

Los jefes esperan que entendáis la situación.The managers hope that you all understand the situation.
Espero viajar a Estados Unidos.I hope to travel to the USA.
Espero que vengas esta noche.I hope that you will come tonight.
Espero que salgas conmigo al cine.I hope that you'll come with me to the cinema.
Mi hermano y yo esperamos que tengas mucha suerte con el trabajo.My brother and I hope that you'll have lots of luck with the job.
Espero que sean muy felices en su matrimonio.I hope that they'll be very happy in their marriage.
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