Are supposed to vs. were supposed to

Question

A.  It's frustrating.  You are supposed to help me.  I tried all that you suggested, but none of them seem to work.B.  It's frustrating.  You were supposed to help me.  I tried all that you suggested, but none of them seem to work.1.  Suppose I'm on the phone talking to an agent, which of the verb tenses in bold above should I use?2.  Is it "are" because he should always help me being a customer?3.  Or is it "were" because his help is of no use anymore after all his unsuccessful suggestions.4.  Should I use "seemed" instead of "seem" above to be consistent with the other verb tense?  My problem is currently it still doesn't work, that's why I chose "seem".Please advise.  Thank you.

Anne58 · Accepted Answer

AnonymousA. It's frustrating. You are supposed to help me. I tried all that you suggested, but none of them seem to work.B. It's frustrating. You were supposed to help me. I tried all that you suggested, but none of them seem to work.1. Suppose I'm on the phone talking to an agent, which of the verb tenses in bold above should I use?2. Is it "are" because he should always help me being a customer?3. Or is it "were" because his help is of no use anymore after all his unsuccessful suggestions.4. Should I use "seemed" instead of "seem" above to be consistent with the other verb tense? My problem is currently it still doesn't work, that's why I chose "seem".Please advise. Thank you.

If you are intending that the agent continue to help you then use are. Your reasoning for using 'are' is correct

If you are finished with his/her attempts to help you then use were, again your reasoning is correct.

Use seemed for the second version, and yes, because it matches the tense of 'were'

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you so much, Anne, for your helpful explanation. That makes sense to me now. Just some additional questions:

1. Making changes to the verb tenses of my orginal sentences, does the following sound natural?

It's frustrating. You are supposed to help me. I've tried all that you've suggested, but none of them seem to work.

2. How are "have tried" and "have suggested" different in meaning from "tried" and "suggested"?

3. Do you think "seem" is correct this time because it matches the tense of "have tried" and "have suggested"?

Anne58 · Answer

1. Using have is just a longer way of saying the same thing. Either would be correct

Using have still puts the sentence into the past tense so it would be correct to use seemed here.

Anonymous · Answer

Again, thank you, Anne, for your response.

Anne58Using have still puts the sentence into the past tense so it would be correct to use seemed here.

I believe "have tried" and "have suggested" are present tense: Present Perfect Tense, although they are indeed actions done in the past. So "seem" is incorrect as you explained. What if I used "have seemed"? Would it sound natural?

Are supposed to vs. were supposed to

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