Help me on the correctness of a sentence, thanks!

Question

I am from China, last week I talked with a netfriend, she suggested me to spend more time on job but playing on internet, she use the sentence: " I suppose that you should spend more time on your job"

I didn't feel all right with the sentence. but she insisted that it was correct and even said here " suppose" equals to " think".

I consulted the dictionary. "suppose" couldn't use as "think" in this way. but it did can be used as "suggest". The problem is: if we use " I suppose that you should.....", is it proper? or won't it cause different understanding?

Rommie · Accepted Answer

"Suppose" doesn't mean "think". To suppose is to assume a hypothesis.

"I suppose you should..." would be interpretted, by me at least, as "I reluctantly conclude that you should...".

"Suggest" is better.
Rommie

PS. "on your job" should be "at your job". The former is too close to "on the job", an idomatic expression which you would not want to use in polite company.

Whl626 · Answer

nothing wrong with the use of ' suppose ' as she belives this is what she thinks is right.

Rommie · Answer

But if you wanted to convey that you believed that X was the right thing to do then you wouldn't say "I suppose X", you'd say "I believe X" or "I think X". To say "I suppose X" is more like saying "I imagine X" or "I guess X".

Well, that's just my thoughts.
Rommie

Maj · Answer

I suppose I am right if I imagine you understand my thoughts.

Anthonyh88 · Answer

thanks for your prompt and convincing explanation.
one more question:
I find in dictionary "suppose" can be use to suggest in this way:
I suppose that you spend more time............. (no should)
many chinese insisted that "should" can be added in this sentence, it is omitted for it is "subjunctive". just like : "I suggest that you do...... " = "I suggest that you should do ".

are they right? and is it commonly used in english-speaking nation to use "suppose" as "suggest" in this way ?

Rommie · Answer

"I suggest that you do...... " = "I suggest that you should do ".

This is NOT true. These two sentences are NOT equivalent.

1. "I suppose that you should spend more time..."
2. "I suppose that you spend more time..."

These sentences mean completely different things.

Sentence 1 means "I imagine that you ought to spend more time..."
Sentence 2 means "I imagine that you do spend more time..."

Neither of these is (necessarily) in subjective mood, however. In English (as opposed to French) we don't use subjunctive mood for suppositions, only for proclamations and impossibilities.

Here's how you might use subjunctive in connection with "suppose":

3. "Suppose he was to get a job" - not subjunctive because this is a simple supposition.
4. "Suppose he were to get a job" - subjunctive - implies "it will never happen".

Note that "Suppose you spend more time..." might or might not be in subjunctive mood. In this sentence, it is impossible to tell - the distinction is never apparent in the second person except with the verb "to be".

WHL may be able to explain this better. WHL is pretty good at this sort of thing.
Rommie

Suzi · Answer

You guys certainly know how to "problematise" something!

After all, not all the ways a word is used are in the dictionary.

"Suppose"used like this can hardly be elevated to the status of a "hypothesis" LOL - it is just a turn of phrase for introducing an idea that may be inevitable, or that the participants feel obliged to go along with.

I think that this can be glossed as "thinking" in this context.

Guest · Answer

Of the two sentences "The cow eats grass" and "Cow eats the grass" - which one is correct?

CalifJim · Answer

Anthony,

It's possible that your internet friend did not mean "I suppose ... should " in the way described here, but what I describe below is one of the most common uses of that expression.

In my opinion, whoever said "reluctantly conclude" just about hit the nail on the head. I'd go a small step further by saying "I suppose ... should" connotes reluctant recognition of an obligation (to do the right thing). It is so idiomatic that it may be difficult to find a very exact definition in a dictionary. It works best with the first and second person pronouns, like this: "I suppose [ I / we / you ] should ... "

Sometimes definitions don't help as much as examples, so here goes:

I suppose we should use a fork. (But we'd rather not; it's more amusing to eat with our hands, even if it's not the proper way to eat.)

I suppose you should know how to use this tool. (But I'd rather not teach you, because I'm tired. I realize nonetheless that you need to be taught. Teaching you is the right thing to do.)

I suppose we should stick to the facts. (But we'd rather not; it's too much fun to speculate wildly, even if it's not the correct way to argue a point.)

I suppose we should wait for Cindy. (But we're getting impatient and would prefer to leave without her, even though that wouldn't be very nice.)

I suppose you should be getting along now. (-- even though you don't want to. I realize that your obligation is to leave.) [This could also be used as a hint that I want you to leave.]

I suppose we should work on that. (But we don't really want to. It's boring. And yet the work has to be done. Getting the work done is the right thing to do.)

I suppose we should try to get along. (-- even though we haven't been getting along at all and would prefer not to get along. Nevertheless, we are faced with a task that requires our cooperation, so we will have to make an effort to get along.)

I suppose we should be grateful that this has happened. (But we don't really feel grateful. It doesn't seem like anything to be grateful for. But being grateful is the right thing to do, because we've learned an important lesson in life.)

You may want to try these on your own.

I suppose I should eat these leftovers. (But ... )
I suppose we should look the other way while they're undressing. (But ...
_________

Extra factoids.

1. The sentences below, with "guess" and "had better", have almost exactly the same meaning as the original sentences above, with "suppose" and "should".

I guess we'd better wait for Cindy.
I guess we'd better try to get along.
I guess we should be grateful that this has happened.
I suppose we'd better use a fork.

2. This idiom doesn't work as a question. "Do you suppose I should leave?" is simply an alternate way of saying "Do you think I should leave?"

Jim

Help me on the correctness of a sentence, thanks!

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions