Hi,
Question:
Do the sentences have the same meaning?
Sentence1:
I look forward to the opportunity to work for your company.
Sentence2:
I hope that I will have the opportunity to work for your company.
Thanks
Sentence N°1 infers that you have already been engaged by the company.
Sentence N°2 infers that you hope you will be engaged by the company.
Oops! I'm quite wrong. I have never been able to master "infer vs. imply" and for those of you that have the same problem, below is a note from the Oxford dictionary on their (correct) usage.
Properly used, infer means “deduce; reason from premises to a conclusion”—e.g.: “We get no sense of the man himself from this book except what we can infer from the biographical facts that Mr. Magida presents.” ( New York Times; Aug. 18, 1996.)
Writers frequently misuse infer when imply (= hint at; suggest) would be the correct word—e.g.: “And no team is, of course, inferring [read implying ] that Dallas isn't talented.” ( New York Times; Jan. 12, 1996.) Remember: a speaker or writer implies something without putting it expressly. A listener or reader infers beyond what has been literally expressed. Or, as Theodore Bernstein put it, “The implier is the pitcher; the inferrer is the catcher.” ( The Careful Writer; 1965.) Stylists agree that the important distinction between these words deserves to be maintained.