they expected more from you vs they were expecting more from you

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'They expected more from you' is a simple statement in the past tense, while 'They were expecting more from you' emphasizes the ongoing nature of the expectation in the past. The choice between them depends on whether you want to convey a simple past expectation or a continuous past expectation.

Last updated: March 26, 2024

they expected more from you

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express a simple past expectation.

This phrase is used to state a past expectation in a straightforward manner without emphasizing the ongoing nature of the expectation.

Examples:

They expected more from you, but you didn't deliver.
I'm sorry they expected more from you.

Show examples from the web [+]

I expected more kind of ghost.
Ended much more realistic than they expected.
I expected more from you, James.
Nate, I expected more from you.
I had expected more from a prince.
You know what? I expected more of you.
I certainly expected more out of you.
I expected more of you, major.
I expected more from you, Harry.
We expected more keenness from the postmaster.
Richard, I expected more from thee.
I expected more... resistance from yöu.
I expected more from the guy.
But I had expected more from your analysis.
I expected more of a fight from you, Brewster.
I expected more fight from you.
I just expected more from her.
We expected more of him, too.
I expected more from you than schoolyard-gossip items.
Because I expected more loyalty from a man whose daughter I saved.

Alternatives:

They thought you would do better.
They had high hopes for you.
They believed in your potential.
They were counting on you to excel.
They had anticipated a better performance from you.

they were expecting more from you

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to emphasize an ongoing past expectation.

This phrase is used when you want to highlight that the expectation was continuous or ongoing in the past, rather than a one-time event.

Examples:

They were expecting more from you all along.
I could tell they were expecting more from you.

Show examples from the web [+]

Mom, I think they were expecting something a little less formal.
Stepmother told Uniform they were expecting him back for it.
People just got the nothing big they were expecting.
I told you they were expecting this.
I think they were expecting a nominee - with a little more name recognition.
After all, they were expecting Baran.
It would be terrible if they were expecting him.
She was definitely not what they were expecting.
Said they were expecting three more.
They were expecting to be protected.
Steve Culley and Fran Redmond recently announced they were expecting.
He left her in the lurch right after they found out they were expecting.
Same time they were expecting the kidnappers to call back.
They were expecting a gun battle, but no shots were fired.
As Salome neared completion, Colin and Maybelle were overjoyed to discover they were expecting their first child.
And of course they were expecting me to be, like, wetting my pants or something.
Yes, we were expecting more.
We were expecting more substance and more proposals.
He left her in the lurch right after they found out they were expecting.
Why didn't Michelson and Morley's experiment reveal the result they were expecting?

Alternatives:

They had been anticipating a better outcome from you.
They were hopeful for a stronger performance from you.
They were looking forward to your success.
They had high expectations for you.
They were eagerly awaiting your improvement.

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

they expected more from you vs they were expecting more from you