Expecting and waiting

Question

Can someone please explain when to use "s'attendre à" versus "attendre" when talking about expecting?  Expecting someone to do something - I was thinking that first sentence might have been "Laissez-moi vous expliquer ce que l'on s'attend à vous" (using the verb "s'attendre à") for "Let me explain what we expect of you", but instead the construction is "... que l'on attend de vous", using "attendre" which I associated with waiting rather than expecting.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Paul,

Attendre [qqn/qch]: (to wait for / to hope for)
J’attends Marc = I am waiting for Marc
Tu attends le taxi = you are waiting for the taxi
Le prof attend de meilleurs résultats = the teacher expects better results

Attendre [qch] de [qqn]: (to expect [sth])
Tu attends trop de lui = you are expecting too much of him
Qu’attendez-vous de moi ? = what are you expecting of me?

S’attendre à [qch]: (to envisage [sth])
Je m’attends à devoir tout recommencer = I am expecting to have to do it all again
Elles s’attendent à un refus catégorique = they are expecting an outright refusal

I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

The key here might be in that it is “attendre de” rather than just “attendre”. Wordreference lists “attendre [qch] de [qqn]” as “expect [sth] from [sb]”.