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### Expressing Expectations with "être censé"

To talk about what someone is "supposed to" do according to **le savoir-vivre** (etiquette), use **être censé** followed by an infinitive.

Because **censé** acts as an adjective, it must agree in gender and number with the subject: add an **-e** for feminine subjects and an **-s** for plurals.

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### Negation and Past Expectations

When discussing serious situations like **le deuil** (mourning), you might say someone is generally *not supposed* to do something by negating the verb **être**.

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To say that someone is expected *not* to do a specific action (like **offenser** the host), place **ne pas** directly in front of the infinitive.

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To talk about an expectation in the past ("was supposed to"), put **être** in the imperfect tense.

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### Customs and Traditions

You will frequently use this grammar when explaining local ceremonies, such as remaining **debout** (standing) or avoiding behaviors that are **mal vu** (frowned upon).

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Expectations and obligations (être censé)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the punctuality	la ponctualité
Punctuality is essential here.	La ponctualité est essentielle ici.
to be supposed to	être censé
You are supposed to respect punctuality.	Tu es censé respecter la ponctualité.
the etiquette	le savoir-vivre
Etiquette requires formal attire.	Le savoir-vivre exige une tenue formelle.
According to etiquette, we are supposed to bring a gift.	Selon le savoir-vivre, nous sommes censés apporter un cadeau.
inappropriate	inapproprié
This gesture is inappropriate during the ceremony.	Ce geste est inapproprié pendant la cérémonie.
to offend	offenser
It is very inappropriate to offend the host.	Il est très inapproprié d'offenser l'hôte.
You are supposed not to offend the guests.	Tu es censé ne pas offenser les invités.
She was supposed to thank the host, but she offended him.	Elle était censée remercier l'hôte, mais elle l'a offensé.
the mourning	le deuil
The family wears black clothes for the mourning.	La famille porte des vêtements noirs pour le deuil.
You are not supposed to laugh during the mourning.	Vous n'êtes pas censés rire pendant le deuil.
the toast	le toast
The guest is supposed to propose a toast.	L'invité est censé proposer un toast.
Here is the toast that he is supposed to propose.	Voici le toast qu'il est censé proposer.
the anthem (m)	l'hymne
Everyone sings the national anthem.	Tout le monde chante l'hymne national.
We are supposed to listen to the anthem in silence.	Nous sommes censés écouter l'hymne en silence.
standing	debout
The guests are supposed to remain standing.	Les invités sont censés rester debout.
You were supposed to remain standing during the song.	Tu étais censé rester debout pendant la chanson.
frowned upon	mal vu
It is frowned upon to wear white clothes.	C'est mal vu de porter des vêtements blancs.
Arriving late is frowned upon. You are supposed to be on time.	Arriver en retard est mal vu. Tu es censé être à l'heure.