1

"You are supposed to pay your taxes"

This could mean that you should pay your taxes, under obligation. It could also mean that someone (probably the speaker) has presumed that you do pay your taxes.

"You are expected to pay your taxes"

Again, this could mean that you should pay your taxes, under obligation. It could also mean that someone (probably the speaker) has presumed that you do pay your taxes.

I've always been fascinated, and annoyed, at the dual meaning of "expect". The presumptive meaning of "suppose" is rare in modern English, so this parallel hasn't been clear to me until recently.

Why would these two different words be synonymous for two different pairs of meanings?

Sparr
  • 1,271
  • 1
    Because sposta and expected to are modals, and all modals have both a deontic sense -- obligation -- and an epistemic sense -- assumed/predicted. Just like must can be "obliged" as in You must attend the meeting (deontic), but also "assumed/predicted" as in This must be the place (epistemic). – John Lawler Apr 14 '15 at 02:40
  • @JohnLawler that's an excellent answer. Why post as a comment instead of an answer? – Sparr Apr 14 '15 at 04:10
  • @JohnLawler: Please post that as an answer, unless you're saving answer #1000 for a special question ;) – Tushar Raj Apr 14 '15 at 08:50
  • @Tushar: Already done that, multiple times. I get tired of repeating myself. Since nobody finds official answers, I see no reason to differentiate them from comments, which nobody finds, either. – John Lawler Apr 14 '15 at 14:06
  • @JohnLawler expecting me to know the words "modal" and "deontic" when searching for an answer to this problem is ridiculous. – Sparr Apr 14 '15 at 14:19
  • @JohnLawler: Apologies. I'm sure everyone appreciates your contribution a lot, Sir. – Tushar Raj Apr 14 '15 at 14:19
  • @Sparr: ELL is where you learn about that, if you didn't learn it in grammar school. This is the stack exchange for people who actually understand something about English grammar. Modal is a standard term and if you don't know it, your education is defective; about like stopping math before algebra. Deontic is a specialized term restricted to modals, but if you read anything about modals it will turn up right away and has to be understood. There are lots of other ways one can search for information in those answers; i just picked the most efficient small search. – John Lawler Apr 14 '15 at 14:24
  • @JohnLawler I'd wager my education and grasp of the English language is in the top 10%, and I've never heard or seen the word 'deontic' before, nor have I ever heard 'modal' applied to language (only to software dialogs). You're talking about things not covered in many college level courses, let alone middle school (where one might encounter algebra). – Sparr Apr 14 '15 at 17:18

1 Answers1

1

Because sposta and expected to are modals, and all modals have both a deontic sense -- obligation -- and an epistemic sense -- assumed/predicted. Just like must can be "obliged" as in You must attend the meeting (deontic), but also "assumed/predicted" as in This must be the place (epistemic).

Quoted from @JohnLawler's comment on this question.

Sparr
  • 1,271