suppose
part of speech
verb (suppose, supposes, supposed, supposing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To suppose means to think something might be true, or to guess it. tree →
2) To suppose is also to imagine a case: suppose you had a million dollars. tree →
3) Be supposed to means should, or be planned to: you are supposed to wear a hat. tree →
4) Be supposed to also means people say it is so: the film is supposed to be good. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: starts an «if» case to work with: suppose each box holds 6 eggs; the numbers after it are given; «supposed to» is the plan, compared with what really happened. In logic: suppose it is true, then check. In everyday talk: I suppose so. Phrases: suppose that, I suppose, supposed to, I suppose so.
examples
- Suppose each box holds 6 eggs. How many boxes for 30 eggs? tree →
- He was supposed to read 20 pages. tree →
- Suppose you double 15. tree →
- She was supposed to arrive at 4 o'clock. tree →
- We are supposed to line up before class. tree →
- I suppose you are right. tree →
- Suppose it rains; what will we do? tree →
- This cake is supposed to be the best in town. tree →
- I suppose you are a princess." tree →
note
In speech, the d in «supposed to» is hardly heard, but write it: «supposed to», not «suppose to». Sets up a case to work with; the numbers after it are given. «Supposed to» is the plan, compared with what really happened.
In the corpora
- Supposing another Thing were to come along?» The Rat: «O, bother Toad ...
- The Rat: «But as you haven't, I suppose you're going to sit on the snow all night and talk?
- «S'pose» means suppose, «obvs» means obviously, and «cheers» can mean thanks.
- Suppose every animal were a chicken: then there would be 2 legs for each head.
- Suppose all the heads were chickens: the chickens' legs would be ahead by 2 × heads.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «suppose» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.