Speaking English - Expectations - How to use "supposed to"

Hi, this is Alex.

Thanks for clicking and welcome to this lesson on "be supposed to".

Okay, so we use this phrase when we're talking about certain kinds of expectations that people

have, whether it's about, you know, situations, making plans, following rules, things like

that.

So we're going to look at four different sentences where we're using "be supposed to" and I'm

going to mention the rules and the different situations that you can use this phrase.

Okay, so number one says, "You are supposed to go when the light turns green."

So the expectation is, and the way I'm using it here is, I'm talking about a particular

rule within society or a usual way that we do something.

So here, I'm obviously talking about the traffic light.

When it turns green, you are supposed to go, okay?

So you're supposed to go when the light turns green.

You're following a rule.

It's an expectation that, you know, is widely accepted within society and within the common

ways that people do things.

So number two says, "It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow."

So again, what this is, is a prediction.

You're making a prediction about tomorrow.

So maybe you saw a weather report and it said, "Tomorrow will be sunny."

If you're speaking with your friend, you say, "Oh, I heard that tomorrow, it's supposed

to be sunny."

Or again, as I've written it here, "It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow."

So this is a prediction about the future.

Okay, number three, "Paris is supposed to be beautiful."

Now what we call this is hearsay.

Hearsay is what is widely believed or what has been widely spoken by a lot of people.

So most people that go to Paris will probably say, "Paris is very, very beautiful."

So if you're talking about it with someone, let's say your mother is going on a vacation

and she's going to Paris.

So you might say to your mother, "Oh, Paris is supposed to be beautiful.

The expectation that I have of Paris from what everyone has ever told me is that it

is beautiful."

Okay?

And finally, "I am supposed to see her tonight."

So here, we're making a plan with someone, right?

So I'm supposed to go to the movies at 7 o'clock.

She's supposed to meet me in front of the theater.

I am supposed to see her tonight.

So here you're making plans.

And just a reminder that you can also actually use this in the negative.

So you can say, "You are," again, if we change this sentence, we can say, "You are not supposed

to go when the light turns," obviously not green, but red.

Okay?

Again, depending on the kind of statement that you want to come across, okay?

So once again, we can look at the different situations where we can use this.

Number one, "You are not supposed to go when the light turns red."

This is, again, a common rule within society or something that is always done a certain

way.

Okay?

Number two, "If you're eating Asian food, you are supposed to eat with chopsticks."

Again, it's a rule.

Okay?

"It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow."

You're making a prediction about something.

It's actually pretty good to use with the weather a lot of the time.

"Paris is supposed to be beautiful."

So this is something that a lot of people believe, a lot of people say.

And number four, "I am supposed to see her tonight."

This is about making plans, about making arrangements.

So again, for this one, you can say, "We're supposed to meet in front of the theater at

seven o'clock," something that's expected to happen.

Okay?

So if you'd like to know further about how to use "you are supposed to," or sorry, "be

supposed to," and in what kind of situations you can use it in, you can check out engvid.com

for a quiz on this.

Thanks for watching.

Take care.