J’espère obtenir une réponse demain.

I hope to get an answer tomorrow.

Breakdown of J’espère obtenir une réponse demain.

• je: I
• demain: tomorrow
• espérer: to hope
• la réponse: the answer
• obtenir: to get

Questions & Answers about J’espère obtenir une réponse demain.

Why is it J’espère and not Je espère?

In French, je usually shortens to j’ before a word that begins with a vowel sound or a silent h.

So:

• je espère → incorrect
• j’espère → correct

This is called elision. It makes the sentence easier to pronounce.

Why is there an accent in j’espère?

There are actually two important written features here:

• J’ has an apostrophe because of elision.
• espère has è, which shows the vowel sound is more open.

The verb is espérer. In some forms, the é in the stem changes to è:

• j’espère
• tu espères
• il/elle espère

But in the infinitive, it stays espérer.

This is something learners often just have to get used to as part of the verb’s spelling pattern.

Why is obtenir in the infinitive?

After espérer, French can use an infinitive when the subject of both verbs is the same.

Here, the person who is hoping is also the person who will obtain the response:

• J’espère obtenir...
• literally: I hope to obtain...

This is just like English I hope to get...

If the subject changes, French usually uses a clause with que instead:

• J’espère qu’il obtiendra une réponse demain.
• I hope that he will get a response tomorrow.

Do I need a preposition before obtenir?

No. After espérer, you normally go directly to the infinitive.

So:

• j’espère obtenir = correct
• j’espère d’obtenir = incorrect in standard French

This is a common thing English speakers wonder about, because French sometimes does use prepositions before infinitives, but not here.

Why use obtenir instead of a more common verb like avoir or recevoir?

Obtenir means to obtain / to get, often with the idea of succeeding in getting something, sometimes after asking, trying, or waiting.

Compared with other verbs:

• avoir = to have / to get very generally
• recevoir = to receive
• obtenir = to obtain, secure, get successfully

So obtenir une réponse sounds a bit more formal or deliberate than avoir une réponse.

A learner should know that while obtenir is correct, in everyday speech French speakers might also say:

• J’espère avoir une réponse demain.

That can sound more natural in many casual situations.

Why is it une réponse and not la réponse?

Une réponse means a response/an answer, not a specific one already identified.

French uses:

• une réponse = a response
• la réponse = the response / the answer

So the sentence is talking about getting some response, not necessarily one specific, previously mentioned answer.

Why is it une réponse and not de réponse?

Because this is an affirmative sentence.

In French, after negation, an indefinite article often changes:

• J’obtiens une réponse. = I get a response.
• Je n’obtiens pas de réponse. = I don’t get a response.

So in a positive sentence, une réponse is correct.

Is réponse feminine? How can I tell?

Yes, réponse is a feminine noun.

You can tell because it uses the feminine article une:

• une réponse

Like many French nouns, its gender has to be memorized. There is no perfect rule, although nouns ending in -ponse are feminine here because the word itself is feminine.

That also means adjectives describing it must agree in the feminine:

• une réponse rapide
• une bonne réponse

Why is demain at the end of the sentence?

Putting demain at the end is very normal in French. It tells us when the action is expected to happen.

French often places time expressions like this after the main part of the sentence:

• J’espère obtenir une réponse demain.

But demain can also be moved for emphasis:

• Demain, j’espère obtenir une réponse.

Both are correct. The version with demain at the end is very natural and neutral.

Is the sentence in the present tense or the future tense?

The main verb j’espère is in the present tense.

But the whole sentence refers to a future event because of:

• the meaning of espérer
• the infinitive obtenir
• the time word demain

So French does not need a future form here to express the future idea. The sentence means that right now, I have the hope of getting a response tomorrow.

Could I also say J’espère que j’obtiendrai une réponse demain?

Yes, absolutely.

That version uses a full clause:

• J’espère que j’obtiendrai une réponse demain.
• literally: I hope that I will obtain a response tomorrow.

Both are correct:

• J’espère obtenir une réponse demain.
• J’espère que j’obtiendrai une réponse demain.

The infinitive version is a little more compact. The que + future version can sound slightly more explicit or emphatic.

How is obtenir conjugated here if it is not conjugated in the sentence?

In this sentence, obtenir stays in the infinitive, so it is not conjugated.

But learners often want to know what the verb would look like when conjugated. For example:

• j’obtiens
• tu obtiens
• il obtient
• nous obtenons
• vous obtenez
• ils obtiennent

This helps because you may later see related sentences such as:

• J’obtiens une réponse. = I get a response.
• J’espère obtenir une réponse. = I hope to get a response.

How do you pronounce J’espère obtenir une réponse demain?

A careful approximate pronunciation is:

zhes-pehr ob-tuh-neer un ray-ponss duh-man

A few helpful notes:

• J’ sounds like the s in measure
• espère has an open eh sound
• obtenir ends with a pronounced French r
• une has a French vowel that does not exist in standard English, so learners often approximate it at first
• réponse has a nasal vowel in pon
• demain ends with another nasal vowel

You do not need to pronounce every final consonant strongly the way you might in English.

Is this sentence formal, neutral, or casual?

It is mostly neutral, with a slightly formal feel because of obtenir.

• J’espère obtenir une réponse demain. → neutral to slightly formal
• J’espère avoir une réponse demain. → more everyday and common

So the sentence is perfectly natural, but depending on context, a French speaker might choose avoir in casual speech.

Can réponse mean both response and answer?

Yes. Réponse can mean both response and answer, depending on context.

For example:

• J’attends une réponse. = I’m waiting for a response.
• La réponse est correcte. = The answer is correct.

So even if the meaning has already been given to the learner, it is useful to know that this noun is flexible in English translation.