I was told I can say:
1) I hope to play a good match this evening.
On the other hand I cannot say:
2) I believe to play a good match this evening
I was told I can say the following:
I believe I´ll play a good match this evening.
Why is that? Is there any rule for this?
Best Answer
The English language is truly complicated at times. Too many options and too many exceptions to the rules! Rather than attempting to give you a few rules to which there will almost invariably be a few exceptions, I'll simply give you a number of ways to say the same thing, using the sentences you've provided.
The infinitive, to play, can function as a noun and as the subject of a sentence (technically, a predicate nominative), as in
With the insertion of a few more words, including the word that, you can make your second sentence correct as well, as in
Your third sentence is fine, as is. Moreover, the word believe could be substituted with the word think, with very little (if any) change in meaning. In other words, you can say either
or you can say
As for the difference in meaning between hope and believe, the words I believe have the ring of certainty to them, while the words I hope communicate less certainty than I believe.
Which of the following two sentences conveys more certainty?
or,
If you say the first sentence conveys more certainty, you're correct.