Modals · CEFR B2 · Confident
be supposed to — English modal verbs
What somebody expects, or what the arrangement was. In the past it usually means the thing did not happen.
The shape
am / is / are supposed to + verb
Say what was expected, with a hint it did not happen.
In Hindi
जो अपेक्षित था या तय था। भूतकाल में इसका मतलब अक्सर यह होता है कि वह हुआ नहीं।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
He is suppose to call me. | He is supposed to call me. The -d is part of the phrase and never dropped, however it sounds. |
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
- should / ought toA2Give advice without sounding like an order
- should have — the regretB2Say what you wish you had done
Questions people ask
- What is the be supposed to used for?
- What somebody expects, or what the arrangement was. In the past it usually means the thing did not happen. In practice: say what was expected, with a hint it did not happen.
- How do you form the be supposed to?
- am / is / are supposed to + verb.
- What is the most common mistake with the be supposed to?
- Saying “He is suppose to call me.” instead of “He is supposed to call me.”. The -d is part of the phrase and never dropped, however it sounds.
Where be supposed to fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
be supposed to is a CEFR B2 structure — the confident band — and it belongs to modals. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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