Grammar Suppose, Pretend, Imagine: Suppose you could cook. What would you make?
After this lesson, you will be able to talk about situations that are not true in real life, but that you think of as true.
Sentence Practice
- My daughters like to pretend to be princesses.
- Suppose you had lots of money; what would you do with it?
- Imagine how life would be without the internet.
Grammar Focus
Pretend
'Pretend' means to behave as though something is true, while knowing it is not. The form is: pretend + [infinitive verb] or [simple sentence].
A simple sentence can be SV, SVC, or SVO. (S = Subject, V = Verb, O = Object, C = Complement).
- My daughters like to pretend to be princesses. (= 'pretend' + infinitive verb 'to be')
- I saw a bear, so I pretended to be asleep.
- They like to pretend they are princesses. (= 'pretend' + SVC)
Suppose
If you 'pretend' something is true, you know it is false, but act as if it were real. If you 'suppose' something is true, you think of it as true for the purpose of a conversation.
If you want to talk about something that is happening now, use suppose + [simple sentence in present tense]. Otherwise, use the past tense.
- Suppose we miss our flight today. How would we get home? ('miss' is in present tense)
- Suppose you owned an island. What would you do with it? ('owned' is in past tense)
Imagine
To 'imagine' means to picture something in your mind. Use 'imagine' like this: imagine + [object] + [gerund verb] or imagine if + [object] + [past tense verb].
- Imagine if you lived in ancient Greece!
- Imagine if we lived in ancient Greece!
- Imagine living in ancient Greece! (the object can be omitted if it's 'you' or 'us' )
Dialogue Practice
Read the dialogues aloud with your teacher.
Teenage Crush
 Sarah | I saw Philip the other day, but pretended not to see him. I'm not brave enough to talk to him. |
 Liam | You need to make a move! Just imagine what could happen! |
 Sarah | Easier said than done! |
 Liam | Suppose you asked him out to a movie. What's the worst thing that could happen? |
 Sarah | He could reject me. |
 Liam | Let's practice! Pretend I'm Philip. Ask me out to a movie. |
 Sarah | No. I think he'll just reject me. Let's just pretend I don't like Philip and talk about something else. |
Sentence Correction
Correct the mistakes in the following sentences.
Suppose you own an island. → "Suppose you owned an island."
1.
Susan pretends being fine when she is not.
2.
Tim pretended not understanding French.
3.
Imagine him to be the president.
4.
Imagine be in outer space.
Sentence Building
Make sentences using suppose, pretend, or imagine and the following words.
not like bananas → "Suppose you did not like bananas. Would you still eat them?"
- travel to Mars
- be on Mars
- hate your job
- get your dream job
- have a child
- not have any worries
- won a competition
