What’s the difference?
presume, assume, suppose

Answers

pomjoep

6 February

Featured answer

English (US)

presume (which as you can see has "pre" which means before) means you are assuming before something, before the event, before certain information etc.

Assume is the same thing minus the pre part

Honestly, I'm not sure how to define suppose. But the way I feel it sounds is that you have a much better understanding than the other two.
When you say "I assume" its clear that you could know more, and more so with "presume"
When you say "I suppose" it feels like you have a good idea of the situation

But I'm not really that smart, so here is what google told me:
"In the shared meaning of “to suppose,” presume is usually used when you suppose based on probability, while assume is used when you suppose without any evidence."

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pomjoep

6 February

English (US)

presume (which as you can see has "pre" which means before) means you are assuming before something, before the event, before certain information etc.

Assume is the same thing minus the pre part

Honestly, I'm not sure how to define suppose. But the way I feel it sounds is that you have a much better understanding than the other two.
When you say "I assume" its clear that you could know more, and more so with "presume"
When you say "I suppose" it feels like you have a good idea of the situation

But I'm not really that smart, so here is what google told me:
"In the shared meaning of “to suppose,” presume is usually used when you suppose based on probability, while assume is used when you suppose without any evidence."

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brandun

6 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@pomjoep Thanks for the explanation! If A borrows 10000 dollars from B, at first, A ____ B has that much money, secondly, A ____ B will lend A money.

Which word goes in each blank, “supposes”, “presumes”, or “assumes”?

pomjoep

6 February

English (US)

I think if I were to say this, I would say: 1:assume 2:presume
But I'm not an expert on these words, and quite frankly you will be understood either way with these. So take what i say here with a grain of salt.

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brandun

6 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@pomjoep Thank you, so you wouldn’t choose “suppose” for either blank? Could you make a sentence with “suppose” then? I’d like to see how you’d use it.

pomjoep

6 February

English (US)

@branduhn “I suppose there is no way to make it on time” “I suppose I’m going to need help with this” suppose implies much more certainty in what you are saying

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brandun

6 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@pomjoep Thanks for the example sentences. Do you think “suppose” means you have evidence of something?

pomjoep

6 February

English (US)

@branduhn you could say that, but it could also just mean it’s very likely
Funny enough i could reply to that with “I suppose that’s correct”

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brandun

6 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@pomjoep So an American in a TV show might say “I suppose he’s the murderer” when they’re 90% sure about that.

And both “presume” and “assume” sound less sure than “suppose”, right?