Why do some native speakers write, “Am I suppose to …” instead of “Am I supposed to…”?
In speech, some less educated people I know have used “suppose” instead of “supposed,” but it’s incorrect. If I saw it in writing, I’d suspect the person was poorly educated.
I know this thread is old, but what am I supposed to do, make a new one just to add a point to this? I found it by Googling the issue, and if anyone else does the same, it would be more useful than finding 4 different posts with the same subject.
The use of “suppose to” bothers me to the point I Googled my way to this post, though I disagree that it has much to do with intelligence. I’ve seen unintelligent people use this, yes of course. I’ve also seen the horrid grammar, spelling, and handwriting used by doctors, scientists, musicians, artists, creative writers, and engineers alike. Not only are many of these people “educated”, but many of them have been naturally brilliant to begin with.
I can make the same argument that the twenty six year old Barnes & Noble employee with gorgeous handwriting, a strict nose for perfect grammar & spelling couldn’t accomplish half of what people (referenced above) with the complete opposite in that department could accomplish when it comes to problem solving, computing, or creation from the ground up (i.e. not mimicking someone else’s already well established style). One other difference that sets these two groups apart is one is more likely to be making these unsound judgments based on this form of measurement and the other will most likely be too busy actually using their intelligence for the greater good. This is not a gripe of degradations; both sides are needed… editors are very valuable office tools to be used in nearly any field.
I know this is pretty much needlessly flaunting a red flag on a ranch full of bulls, but I stand by the cliche. ::covers bum::