“supposed to go” or “supposed to be going?”
“supposed to go “or “supposed to have gone?”
“supposed to go” or “going to go?”
“supposed to eat” or “supposed to be eating?”
“supposed to eat” or “supposed to have eaten?”
“supposed to eat” or “going to eat?”
Learn how to use the phrase “be supposed to” and compare it to other similar structures. You can watch my video lesson or keep scrolling down to read more.
subject + be + supposed to + base verb
Remember your “be” forms.
|
subject |
present / future | past |
| I
You He She It We They |
am
are is is is are are |
was were was was was were were |
Yes, we can certainly use the present “be” forms for the
present and the future with this phrase.
Remember to use the base form of the verb:
I am supposed to go. goes going went
We are supposed to call Jeffery. calls called calling
The structure also does not change. Always include the letter “d” when you are writing.
✅I am supposed to go.
I am supposing to go.
He has supposed writes me.
In speaking, the “d” is silent.
“BE SUPPOSED TO” is used when there is:
✅an obligation coming from someone else.
✅an expectation coming from someone else.
1)I am supposed to take my medicine three times a day. My doctor told me to do this.
2)Jerry and Ann are supposed to work together. Their boss assigned them together.
3)We were supposed to cancel our reservation 48 hours in advance. The hotel told us to do this.
In all three of the examples, you can see how the decision is not made by the subject. Each subject has an obligation to do something OR they are expected to do this.
1)It wasn’t my decision to take the medicine three times a day.
2)Jerry and Ann didn’t decide to work together.
3)We didn’t make the cancellation policy.
Let’s compare this to “should.”
1)I should exercise more. I want to get in shape.
This is the speaker’s decision.
2)We should invite the Smiths over for dinner.
This is the speaker’s decision.
3)You and I should arrange Jessica’s surprise birthday party.
This is the speaker’s decision.
With the modal verb “should,” the obligation is coming from the speaker.
COMPARE:
I should quit smoking. / I am supposed to quit smoking.
In the first sentence, maybe this person wants to stop smoking so they can get healthier. In the second sentence, maybe this person was told to quit smoking by a doctor, parent or partner.
“Must” is stronger than “should” and “be supposed to.”
1)I must take this medicine three times a day. If I don’t, I could die.
2)You must not carry weapons on an airplane. If you do this, you will be arrested.
Many times, to make laws and rules sound less aggressive, “be supposed to” can be used.
COMPARE:
You must not smoke in here. = stronger / You are not supposed to smoke in here. = less strong
Think about how strongly you want to express an obligation.
correct, but unnatural: When you go to a wedding, you must bring a gift.
This can sound forceful.
correct: When you go to a wedding, you’re supposed to bring a gift.
Everyone expects this, but if you don’t bring a gift, nobody will throw you out.
We can also use “be supposed to” when:
✅we think something is true because we’ve heard about it
1)Is your back still hurting you? You should see Dr. Stevens. He’s supposed to be the best chiropractor in the city.
Does this person know this for a fact? No, but this person thinks this is true because he/she has heard this.
2)Have you seen the movie Farmer Raid? It’s supposed to be terrible.
Does this person know this? No, they’ve heard this.
mini review:
“should” is used for personal obligations
I should cook tonight instead of ordering a pizza.
“be supposed to” is used for external obligations or expectations
In my apartment building, we’re not supposed to have pets.
“must” is stronger than “be supposed to”
For security reasons, passengers must not leave their luggage unattended.
“be supposed to” is also used for expectations based on what we’ve heard
The Blue Riviera is supposed to have excellent food.
We can also use “be supposed to” when:
✅there is an expectation that isn’t met
(We expect something, but it doesn’t happen.)
This can cause anger, disappointment or surprise.
1)I was supposed to have 10 students in my class this morning, but only three showed up. I couldn’t really do all the activities with just 3 students.
Did I expect 10 students? Yes. Did I have 10 students? No. Was I disappointed? Yes.
Many times you’ll see “be supposed to” with “but,” because there is a contrast between the expectation and the reality.
2)My daughter is 35. She’s so old. She’s supposed to be married. She’s supposed to have kids by now.
Does this parent expect her daughter to be married and have kids by now? Yes.
Is this parent’s expectation being met? NO.
3)Why isn’t the projector working? We’re supposed to give our presentation in five minutes.
You can see the present “be” form “are” being used to describe something in the future.
Many times we use “be supposed to” to show disappointment like in the examples above. However, there can also be positive situations.
4)I was only supposed to have 3 students in my class this semester, but 8 more students joined unexpectedly.
This is a positive thing. I only expected 3 students, but I got 11.
5)We weren’t supposed to get on the bus without a ticket, but the bus driver let us on anyway because of the rain.
This is a positive thing. We weren’t expecting to be allowed on the bus, but the driver said it was okay.
We can use “be supposed to be + ing” to:
✅focus on an action happening in the moment
(This is like the present and past continuous tenses.)
1)The kids are supposed to be sleeping, but I can hear them playing in their room.
You can easily change this sentence to the : The kids are not sleeping.
2)You took the students shopping? You were supposed to be showing them around the city.
You can easily change this to the : You were not showing the students around the city.
3)My parents are supposed to be arriving on Monday, but I’m not sure if their flight will be cancelled because of the snowstorms.
You can easily change this sentence to the : My parents are arriving on Monday.
(Remember, we often use the present continuous for future plans.)
Is it possible just to use the base verb like earlier?
The kids are supposed to sleep…
You were supposed to show…
My parents are supposed to arrive…
Yes. However, the “ing” form helps to emphasize the action in progress at the moment of speaking. Look at the image below.
“be supposed to” and “be going to“
| speaker’s intention | external obligation or expectation |
| I’m going to go to the party tonight. I’ll see you there. |
I’m supposed to go to the party tonight. It’s my boss’s 50th birthday. |
| Erin was going to clean her apartment before her trip, but she didn’t have time. | Erin was supposed to clean her kitchen before she moved out, but she didn’t have time. |
| These chocolates taste so good. I love them. I’m going to buy more. | These chocolates taste so good. I love them. |
*You can see in the last example that “be supposed to” doesn’t sound right. Why would you feel obligated to buy more if you’re the one who loves them?
Sometimes, these two phrases can be interchangeable because our intentions can become obligations and expectations can become our own intentions.
1)I’m so sorry. I was supposed to send you the contract on Monday, but I got distracted.
2)I’m so sorry. I was going to send you the contract on Monday, but I got distracted.
In these two examples, there really isn’t any difference in meaning.
mini review:
We can use “be supposed to“, when something we expect does not happen.
It was supposed to snow last night, but it didn’t.
We can use “be + supposed to be + ing” like the present or past continuous.
Why are you cleaning? You’re supposed to be resting. Doctor’s orders.
We can use “be going to” is for personal intentions.
I’m going to increase my sales by 50% this quarter. I want this
Many times, writers will make the past of “be supposed to” sound more formal by using this structure:
“be supposed to have + past participle”
Remember, the past participle is verb #3.
- eat
- ate
- eaten – This is the past participle
| MORE FORMAL | LESS FORMAL, but more common |
| was/were supposed to have + past participle | was/were supposed to + base verb |
| Her graduation was supposed to have been the best day of her life, but she was disappointed. | Her graduation was supposed to be the best day of her life, but she was disappointed. |
| I was supposed to have been given* a vegetarian meal on the flight, but I got meat.
*What? Why are there two verbs after “have?” This is the passive voice. |
I was supposed to be given a vegetarian meal on the flight, but I got meat.
|
You can see that both of these sentences give you the same information. I want to show you a few real life examples.
Real Life Example
This is an excerpt from Harvard Business Review article by Gill Corkindale.
It was supposed to have been the moment when British Airways showed the world the future of travel. Instead, the opening of Heathrow’s spectacular new Terminal 5 revealed only the hubris and incompetence of BA’s and the British Airports Authority’s management. Planned for 20 years, at a cost of £4.3bn, the opening of BA’s new home in T5 was an astonishing catalogue of organisational blunders.
You can see a past expectation that did not happen. People expected more from the opening of Terminal 5, but they were disappointed. The word “instead” also helps give you that contrast.
“be supposed to have + past participle”
This formal structure can also be used to:
✅express something we think happened in the past, but we are not so sure
This is headline from an article in Country Life by James Fisher.
Beavers discovered living on River Avon, 400 years after they were supposed to have gone extinct
Was there an expectation for beavers to go extinct? No.
Is this something we think happened in the past, but we are not so sure? Yes.
There are many ways to use “be supposed to” in English and I hope this lesson helped you with this topic! Keep an eye out for this phrase because it’s something you’ll definitely see.
