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Yesterday i was texting my grandma, and one of the things I said was:

Nothing much going on down here. Were (supposed to) getting lobster rolls from Masons since its National Lobster Day.

Now, my question is would I say get or getting in the sentence. Saying "Were getting lobster" is right, and saying were supposed to get lobster" is also right, but since there are parenthesis, does that change it? Thanks!

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I assume you're leaving 'be' out of the example by mistake.

I would say:

  • We're (supposed to be) getting lobster rolls from Mason's.

Or

  • We're supposed to get lobster rolls from Mason's.

However, it also depends on what you're trying to say. In the first example, it looks like you intend to get lobster rolls (or are currently in the process of getting them) in the near future but the parentheses hint that there is a possibility you might not get them (they might have run out, they've forgotten them in the past, etc.).

The second one is more definitive. It is either saying you intend to get the lobster rolls although you haven't yet so it is uncertain. It can also be seen as a definitive statement like getting the lobsters rolls is either expected of you or you're saying Mason's is supposed to provide them but there is some chance they may not.

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  • Hey thanks. It hit it right on the head. I guess I kinda forgot about the word "be" (idk why). But thanks for taking the time to answer this! Commented Jun 16, 2020 at 14:03
  • Please look at the Help Center, and at the standard of some of the upvoted answers to questions involving grammar, to help you decide which questions should be answered on ELU (a site intended for able Anglophones), and which should be close-voted as being too basic. Commented Jun 16, 2020 at 14:31
  • Sposta includes a "to" because it sposta be followed by an infinitive. Like be, which is the only infinitive verb form in English that's different from the present tense form of the verb. Commented Jun 16, 2020 at 16:08

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