 Re: be supposed to
I'm not sure that politeness comes into it. For me it's something which should happen but with the implication that it doesn't (or won't). So -
She's supposed to take these three times a day - but she always forgets.
I was supposed to go to Rome tomorrow, but I've had to put it off because of the meeting with Bill Gates.
The expression also has the second meaning "people say that" as in "JK Rowlings is supposed to be the richest woman in Britain" or "There's supposed to be a ghost in that house". But that's a different use. |