Espèrer and the Subjonctif

Question

Hello,According to some text books the verb espérer is not used in the subjunctive, only in the negative sense eg je n’espere pas que .... is this correct, and if not is this a rare occurrence? Thanks so much in advance and for having such a great learning platform for French. Mark

Accepted Answer

Yes, this is correct. That said, espérer also requires the subjunctive when used as a question:
J'espère qu'il prendra cet emploi. -- I hope he takes that job. Je n'espère pas qu'il prenne cet emploi. -- I don't hope he takes that job.Tu espères qu'il prenne cet emploi? -- Are you hoping he takes that job?
(Remark: in English you would probably use future tense. I haven't done so as not to confuse the issue.)

Answer

Thanks so much for clarifying this Chris.Best wishes.Matk