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Do you ever wonder why sometimes the word suppose ends in the Z sound and sometimes it ends in S?
Find out why and how to know the difference today.
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Hello there, Aubrey.
Happy December.
How's it going?
Yes, excellent.
How are you doing?
Good.
Aubrey, is there anything you're supposed to get done today but probably won't be able to do?
It's a sassy Saturday.
Yes, there's always something on my to-do list that I don't get around to doing, right?
Someone hit our car and I need to call the insurance back to try and figure that all out.
I probably won't do it today since it's a Saturday, but every time I call, they don't answer.
And then when they call, I can't answer.
So we're just playing phone tag.
So did you get sideswiped?
Did your car get sideswiped?
Sort of, yes, but it was like they were parking and swung a little too wide.
So they just hit the back corner of our car, but it is sort of the side of the back corner.
So yeah, just like when you got sideswiped.
And it always ends up being such a huge pain.
Yeah, it's hard.
Well, it's hard because during the week, we're so focused on the things we're supposed to do.
But then on the weekend, we just want to relax.
But there's more things we're supposed to do on the weekend.
Or you finally remember to call someone, but it's not business hours.
So you can't.
I know.
I hate that.
So maybe our listeners are picking up on a theme.
I asked you, is there anything you're supposed to do or supposed to get done today?
Yeah, we're talking about this phrase, supposed to.
And we got a great question about that.
And suppose, the verb suppose.
Do you want to read the question for us, Lindsay?
Yes.
This is from Javier.
Javier says, Hi, Lindsay, Michelle, and Aubrey.
Thank you for everything you teach on the podcast.
I listen almost every day.
That is amazing, Aubrey.
Amazing.
I have a question.
I've heard people say, I suppose, and you were supposed to.
But one sounds like Z and one sounds like S.
Can you talk about why and share some examples of how to use these?
Thanks for all the great episodes, Javier.
Okay.
Such a good question.
And one of the most frustrating things about English that we see these words, we hear them pronounced and sometimes it seems like there's no rhyme or reason right, Lindsay?
Yeah.
I mean, there's not always a rule for everything.
That's the thing.
Sometimes it's just a matter of listening more often, so you know the way certain words are pronounced, right.
Exactly, right?
Sometimes there are reasons that we change a sound in order to make it easier to pronounce.
And sometimes things will happen that just don't really make sense.
But we are going to go through both of these.
First of all, with that Z sound, Z, suppose.
And then we'll also share supposed to.
And it is tricky that one has that Z and one has the S sound.
Yeah, so let's get started here.
So with the Z sound, right, suppose.
So this verb means to think or to believe.
Most of the time we shorten it to spose.
That's right.
We often will make it like one syllable when we're speaking quickly.
I suppose so.
I suppose so.
Exactly.
Exactly.
I suppose that was the best I could expect from him.
Or what do you suppose happened to him?
So this it's interesting.
It does feel a little more formal than saying like, think, oh, what do you think happened to him?
And someone will say, what do you suppose?
It does feel more formal.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But we will hear it.
You hear it a lot on like TV, maybe crime shows.
For sure.
Let's do a little role play.
This is where because we also use it to say, I guess so.
So we'll do a little role play to show that.
I'll start us out.
Do you think he really lost his phone?
I suppose, right?
Yeah.
So you're kind of saying like, I guess so.
But suppose definitely implies you're not totally sure.
You're kind of taking their word for something, but you don't have evidence or you're not sure.
And I think we might be more likely to collapse that word and say I suppose when there's a word that comes after it,
Like, I suppose he did.
Right.
That's true.
Exactly.
Right.
With casual speech, we often will run words together like that, drop syllables.
And that's true.
If you're saying I suppose and you're sort of trying to indicate that you might doubt it you're not really sure, then we would.
You'd hear all of that in the intonation.
I suppose.
Yeah.
Or even if it's just the only word in the sentence, like it's a short, shorter sentence kind of.
Like you could say, I suppose.
I suppose you could say, I suppose.
I suppose you could just say, I suppose.
And we also use this to imagine a hypothetical.
So for example, I might say to you, Lindsay, suppose you won the lottery.
What would you do first?
I would not tell anyone.
Right?
I would hide it.
Yeah.
It's very similar to saying, imagine.
Imagine this happened.
Suppose this happened.
Or Aubrey, suppose I forgot to close the garage.
Would you need to go back and close it?
Right, this is something I would say to my partner.
Suppose I forgot to close the garage.
Would we have to go back or we think it's fine?
So that's when you're saying you actually did that, right?
Oh, I've absolutely done this.
We finally installed a camera so that we can check from away to see if the garage is closed or not, because I would never remember, and then I'm stressed about it.
Oh my gosh, yeah.
In our neighborhood, we cannot not close our garage.
It would be bad.
Any neighborhood probably, right?
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
But here's something interesting.
Yeah, sort of some interesting grammar here is that we don't use this verb in the past tense.
We wouldn't say like, I supposed that was true and then discovered it wasn't.
We would just say, oh, I thought that was true.
I've never heard someone use suppose in the past tense, because it really is more about this hypothetical wondering or thinking, something that might not be true, that you don't refer to in the past.
Exactly.
And what would be the second use when we hear the Z sound?
Yeah.
So as an adjective, we'll say supposed.
And here we're making it three syllables, and we pronounce that E-D.
And it means like something that's generally assumed or believed, but not necessarily true.
So for example, the supposed cure didn't work at all.
And there's a lot... inferred here, right?
There's a lot of meaning here of like, oh, this was supposed to be a cure, but it wasn't.
We use it as this adjective.
Right.
It's kind of critical of the cure.
And you're questioning the people who made that claim, right?
Exactly.
Or her supposed boyfriend never calls her.
It's like, are they even really dating?
We don't think she has a boyfriend.
Right.
Exactly.
Right.
So don't get confused.
I could see how this might be confusing for our listeners, right?
Because here we're adding a whole other syllable.
Right?
It's pronounced so differently and it has an entirely different meaning.
And what's really tricky is that that is spelled the same.
This adjective supposed, is spelled the same as supposed to.
To be supposed to do something.
Yes.
Which is pronounced differently with that S sound.
So it's why we have to look at context even before we read a sentence.
Right?
We have to look at the context of the sentence to understand what is the function of that word.
Exactly.
And this phrase means expected to.
So, for example, this medicine is supposed to help with headaches.
And this is interesting because, even though it's written with that E-D, we drop that when it's followed by two.
That two kind of replaces the D sound.
Supposed to.
Supposed to help.
And just to be totally clear for our listeners, now we're flipping over to the S sound, right?
The S pronunciation, supposed to.
Yep.
And this is the only way we use this word or this phrase with the S sound.
Is in this chunk to be supposed to do something else?
We were supposed to meet at noon, but he was late, right?
And what's really interesting is that is probably more common, right?
We hear this very often.
It's one of the most common ways to say something was expected to happen.
It was supposed to happen.
Yeah, super common, for sure.
Yep.
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Okay Aubrey, let's put it all together in a role play, now that we have really shown our listeners the differences between the Z sound and the S sound.
All right, you and I are planning a friend's surprise birthday party in this role play.
All right, here we go.
Okay, everyone is supposed to be at the restaurant by 6.30.
Right.
I'm picking up the cake at 5 and you're bringing balloons, right?
Wait, I thought you were bringing balloons.
Oh, no.
Maybe Jake was going to?
I'll call him.
If he's not planning on it, I'll do it.
Okay, thanks.
I'd do it, but I have to come straight from work.
I suppose I could see if I can leave early.
No, no, no.
I can do it if Jake can't.
I'll see you there at 6.30.
Nice.
Okay.
It takes a lot of coordination, these surprise parties, right?
Absolutely.
This always happens.
You're doing that, right?
No.
Miscommunication.
It's amazing how much can get miscommunicated sometimes.
Totally.
Yeah.
So the first thing you said was everyone is supposed to be at the restaurant by 630.
So if you notice that pronunciation...
Sounds like an S, supposed to, only with this chunk.
And it's going to be the verb to be conjugated here is everyone is supposed to be.
Right.
And we also could collapse that word.
Everyone is supposed to be.
And sometimes it's like a mini collapse.
So micro collapse.
We can't even hear it.
Right.
That's true.
Depending on how quickly someone's talking.
If they're in a hurry, that's definitely going to be collapsed.
Everyone's supposed to be, it's all going to run together.
Everyone's supposed to be to the restaurant by 630.
Yeah, exactly.
And then what did I say, Aubrey, the last thing I said?
You said, I suppose I could see if I can leave early.
And this is really interesting.
I think people would more likely say I suppose here, instead of I think I can leave early or I probably can leave early, because you're definitely implying that it would be inconvenient.
It would be sort of difficult.
You're hoping that I won't say, yeah, sure, you leave early and do it.
I suppose I could.
Yes.
Yeah.
You're not really warmed up, fully warmed up to the idea, right?
You're not fully endorsing the idea and you're trying, you're actually showing a little hesitation.
Yeah, exactly.
Which is implied by using, I suppose, instead of one of the other options, right?
Yes, exactly.
So today we saw some elision.
Aubrey, what is elision?
Yeah, so this is interesting.
When you have these words supposed with the E-D and to supposed to, there's a lesion in spoken English where that E-D is replaced by the T.
Sound in to supposed to.
And then we also have, like you were mentioning, Lindsay, dropping that syllable.
So there's a lot of interesting pronunciation features happening in these chunks.
Yeah.
And if our listeners guys, if you want to go deeper into pronunciation, that's where our brand new course Global English Pronunciation comes in.
It's an eight-week course.
It breaks down the eight native secrets of natural pronunciation, of clear speech.
So we're not going to teach you the American accent or the British accent or the Aussie accent.
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Why are we changing the sounds?
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Aubrey, what should be our final takeaway for our listeners?
Yeah.
So when it comes to suppose with that Z sound and supposed to, these are very different meanings.
It's not sort of just random that sometimes we use the S and sometimes the Z When there is a different meaning.
Sometimes the sounds change right.
One is a verb and then it can also be an adjective.
So it's a little tricky, but when in doubt, connection, not perfection, right, Lindsay?
Whether you accidentally use the S or the Z, what's really important is that you are understood.
Exactly.
And I think the more listening you do, you'll start to hear how these are pronounced and you'll know it right.
Some amount of learning English is really just about taking in the input.
Absolutely, right?
When you're shadowing, you're listening and paying attention whenever you hear, suppose or supposed to recognize it.
What's the context?
What's the meaning?
And then you'll know how to use them correctly.
All right.
Sounds great for today.
Aubrey, guys, hit the follow button if you love our show and we'll see you next time.
All right.
Awesome.
See you next time.
Bye.
Bye.
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