Confused by emotions

Question

Like some others I find this lesson confusing in parts, mainly because in English neither ‘waiting for’ nor ‘expecting’ have intrinsically positive or negative connotations; they’re neutral (IMHO after speaking English for 70 years). So if some uses of attendre do have emotional connotations that needs spelling out. But not if it is ‘usually (but not always)’ positive or negative, that doesn’t help. Surely the context will tell us what the emotional content is, if any? Merci

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Stephen,
Thank you for pointing this out! You're correct that this part of the lesson is more confusing than helpful and we've now removed it thanks to you.
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

The rule that s'attendre à qqc conveys a negative emotion is, as several native speakers confirmed to me, not borne out in general everyday practice. They said they would use it just as you would use "to expect" in English. Any negative connotation is carried by context and not the reflexive.