 How to use the expression to be supposed to in English. Hey everyone, how's it going? In this video, I'm going to teach you a really must-know expression that's going to help you sound fluent and natural. And that expression is to be supposed to. Of course, I'm Jennifer from J4sEnglish.com and this channel is dedicated to helping you sound like a fluent, confident, natural English speaker. So let's get started with this video. To be supposed to, this is the expression that you're going to know how to use by the end of the video. Now, to be supposed to, we use this expression to talk about obligation or commitment. So when you use this, you're using it with something that you're required to do because of an obligation or commitment. Let me give you an example sentence. Tonight, I'm going to a little holiday party. So this morning, I said to Kevin, I said, what time are we supposed to be there? What time are we supposed to be there? Now remember, it's about a commitment or an obligation. So because we agreed to go to this party, we said, yes, we will be there. We made a commitment to go to that party. So you don't have to use this expression just for big, big, major commitments. You can use it for minor things like just agreeing to go to a party. And of course, when we agree to go to that party, well, there's a start time to the party. So that's the requirement or the commitment for us. What time are we supposed to be there? Now let's talk about the sentence structure. So our sentence structure is to be supposed and then infinitive. So the to to be supposed to that to belongs to the infinitive verb. Now here's what you need to keep in mind. This is a to be expression. That means to be is our main verb. It's the verb that's conjugated according to the subject and according to the time reference. Suppose is always in an ed form. Okay, always. It doesn't change. And we always use the infinitive following suppose. So in my sentence, what time are we supposed to be there? Now are is being conjugated with our subject, we, right? And for verb tense, it's in the present simple. Okay, the verb to be is being conjugated in the present simple. Now we use the present simple form in this expression to talk about a future event. That's what you need to keep in mind. So the party I'm going to is tonight. It's in the future. But I'm putting my verb to be in the present simple. Let me give you another example. I could say I'm supposed to call my uncle tomorrow. I'm the verb to be is being conjugated with the subject I, I am I'm, and it's in the present simple, even though the time reference is the future tomorrow. I'm supposed to call to call is our infinitive. I'm supposed to call my uncle tomorrow. That means that I have a commitment or an obligation to call my uncle. I told him or I told somebody else that yes, I'll call him tomorrow. I'm supposed to call my uncle tomorrow. So just remember for a future commitment, we use our expression in the present simple. And it's the verb to be that's being conjugated with our subject and in the present simple. Now also keep in mind that whether or not I actually call my uncle tomorrow is not known. Okay. It's a future event. Will I do it? Who knows? That's not really the point. The point of this expression isn't to talk about whether or not that action actually happens. The point is just to express an obligation or a commitment. I'm supposed to call my uncle tomorrow. Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. I guess it depends what happens tomorrow. How busy of a day I have, but I do have an obligation or I made a commitment to call him. Now this expression is commonly used in the past as well. So we've already talked about how to use it in the present simple. So let's talk about how to use it in the past. Let me give you an example. I could simply say I was supposed to call my uncle yesterday. Okay. I was, our verb to be is in the past and it's conjugated with the subject I. I was supposed to call. Remember, supposed and infinitive does not change. I was supposed to call my uncle yesterday. Now question for you. If I say I was supposed to call my uncle yesterday, did I call my uncle yesterday? Hmm. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Do you think yes I did or no I didn't let us know in the comments. This is very important to keep in mind. If this expression is used in the past, the action did not happen. Okay. I didn't call my uncle yesterday. I was supposed to call my uncle yesterday, but it commonly followed with but and then you provide your reason. I was supposed to call my uncle yesterday, but I was really busy at work and I couldn't. So keep that in mind. The action did not happen. All right. Let's summarize what we know. The expression is to be supposed to after supposed we have our infinitive suppose an infinitive never change. It's always like that. This is a verb to be expression. The verb to be changes according to your subject and your time reference. This expression is used with a commitment or an obligation that you have. We use this expression in the present simple to talk about a future commitment. We don't know if that future commitment will actually happen. We use this expression in the past simple to talk about an action that did not happen even though you had an obligation or a requirement to do it. So now you know how to use the expression to be supposed to and now it's your turn to practice. So make sure you leave two examples in the comments below one in the present simple for a future event and the other in the past simple for an action that did not happen. I can't wait to read your examples. Now this is an expression that I taught my students in the finally fluent academy. So if you're already a member, you can log in and then review this do the practice exercises and get personalized support from me. If you're not a member, you can start your free seven day trial using the link below and you can add this expression and many more to your vocabulary to help you sound fluent and natural. If you found this video helpful, please hit the like button, share it with your friends and of course subscribe and until next time, happy studying. All right. Awesome job adding this expression to your speech. I can't wait to read your example sentences and I'll see you in my next video. Bye.