【答】實際上並沒有上述限制。Webster's Dictionary of English Usage（1989）明確指出：Hope is used idiomatically in all the following phrases: in the hope(s) of, in hope(s) of, in the hope(s) that, and in hope(s) that.（所有下面這些短語都是英語習慣用法：in the hope(s) of, in hope(s) of, in the hope(s) that和in hope(s) that）。
這就告訴我們，被《英語慣用法詞典》否定的四種用法實際上也是英語的習慣用法。也就是說,這些短語中無論有沒有定冠詞，hope的單數或複數都可以用。下列源於英語詞典和語法參考書的例句證明了這一點。例如：He began to butter up the boss in hope of being given a better job. （DAI）Of course, you know the city is full of thieves andthey steal our mail in hope of finding money. (LDOCE-example bank)He returned to the crime scene in (the) hope of findingfurther evidence.（WALD）…doping out basketball scores in hope of one day winning a pool (WDEU)Greg lives in hope of winning a million dollars in the lottery. (MDAIPV)The decision to escalate UN involvement has been taken in the hopes of a swift end to the hostilities. （CALD）He spent much of his time and money, especially in his later years, patronizing Taoist alchemists in the hopes of finding an elixir to prolong his life. （Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 ）Rinna’s daughter sent her to college in hope that some learning might permeate her thick, yet porous skull. (WNWEV)The doctors gave him more powerful drugs in the vain hope that he might recover.（CALD）但是in hope that更多地用於修飾動詞live。例如：We live in hope that a cure will be found. (LCOCE)The situation is not good but we live in hope that it will improve. (OALD)We live in hope that there will be some survivors ofthe crash. (WALD)We held an open house last week in the hopes that someone would offer to buy our house. (WALD)Children wished upon a star [=made a wish while looking at a star] in the hopes that their dreams would come true. (WALD)We're lumping them all together here in the hopes that somewhere in the pile you will come across just what you need. (WDEU)Ginny DelVecchio talks about her life in the hopes it will help defeat the disease. (LDOCE-example bank) 根據MEU，在各種用法中，hope用單數的是英國用法，複數形式hopes是美語用法。當英語為本族語的人們自如運用上述各種用法時，我們沒有理由作繭自縛。