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RSSIs There a Difference Between “Assume” and “Presume”?
Both words have numerous definitions in the OED, but in ordinary usage, both assume and presume mean “suppose.”
I suppose you are going to the beach this summer.
I assume you are going to the beach this summer
I presume you are going to the beach this summer.
H.W. Fowler’s opinion was that in using presume, the speaker believes the supposition is true and will believe it until he learns otherwise. In using assume, the speaker feels no certainty that his supposition is true or not.
In a legal context, presume means “to take as proved until contrary evidence is presented.” Ex. The defendant is presumed innocent.
Because of the association of the word presume with legal contexts, it carries a connotation of formality. For the fiction writer, presume would be the preferable choice in the speech of a remote or officious character.
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Presume has alway seemed to imply a future context, often more a question than a statement. Sort of a guess, looking for confirmation.
“I presume you will wish dinner served in the dining room?”
Assume seems more a statement of the present, based on observations and facts already evident. An assumption would be a hypothesis, something stronger than a “good guess”.
Thanks!
“Assume” can also be used to mean that something has, for instance, taken on different characteristics, right? As in, say, “She assumed a better attitude after our talk.” Is that correct? That may be completely incorrect usage of that word, though. If I’m wrong, blame it on the South, lol.
Trina L. Grant,
I believe that is a different meaning. “She deliberately left her cheery nature behind her as she entered the room, to assume the role of mediator.” “John’s task was to assume responsibility for the financial losses of the firm, and correct the problems.”
The assume/presume question is about nuances of making provisional decisions (I will decide *this*, provided conditions remain as they are).
The meaning for the word you are thinking of is not related to the story about “ass/u/me” making an “a** of you and me”.
Trina,
Another meaning of “assume” is “put on”:
Sherlock Holmes assumed a disguise in order to spy on the suspect.
As for “blaming it on the South,” we should never feel the need to apologize for our Southern idiom. It’s as valid as that of any other region and preserves fascinating fossils of an earlier English.
My philosophy is–we should all be willing and able to modify our speech to be understood by people from different speech communities, but we should never have to apologize for our native dialect.
Maeve,
Yes.
Maybe 40 years ago I saw an Ann Landers column. A lady wrote about her husband, that she didn’t understand what he was talking about because he was an engineer.
Ms. Landers replied that if the guy was that smart – he should be smart enough to figure out how to be understood.
That still makes sense to me.
Consider which is more humourous:
Dr Livingston, I presume?
Dr Livingston, I assume?
I’d say the first option, which is how Stanley supposedly phrased it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Livingstone
Well suppose is lyk a question… you know.. the outcome of that question is lyk entirely optional.. nothing certain.
erm… assume is kind of like saying what you think will happen E.g
guy 1: Omg… those sweets were soo nice!
guy 2: so i ASSUME you’re going to get some more…. you know what i mean?
And finally presume is for something quite a long way in the future
guy 1: I want to become a stock broker
guy 2: I presume you’re going to take a degree in business.
source: A 14 and 1 month year old… that sounded wrong…..
kid from england =] stunned all of ya right!
anony, the first guy 1 and guy 2 example is not proper use, nor correct use of assume. Note that using all capital letters is the common way to emphasize a word .. on a typewriter. Since I saw it on my browser, the correct way to emphasize a word varies. Some use quotation marks, hyphens, or asterisks to set off the important word. Others craft a well-written sentence to make their point.
Guy 2, in your first example, insinuates in a deceptive or manipulative, almost bullying, manner. Guy 2 could have said politely, “So, will you be getting more? I would like a taste, too.” Instead he “assumes” that he deserves, or is sufficiently intimidating, to get a portion of the sweets that guy 1 just enjoyed. There is nothing about polite speech here – this sounds more like gangsters or common thugs leaning on those they prey on.
In your second example, I would have used assume. The assumption guy 2 makes is right now – guy 2 has already assumed, in order to make this statement, that in order to become a broker, guy 1 must begin preparing. Assume has nothing to do, in this statement, with guy 1, with guy 1’s career goals, or with anyone preparing or taking classes or earning degrees.
I use presume when I expect additional information in the future, relating to a choice or decision.
Brad, politeness isn’t the only purpose of speech!
In choosing how to say something, you need to decide what’s most appropriate for the context. If you want to be cheeky and provocative, or even threatening, you’ll choose a different way of expressing your thoughts from the way you might have chosen in a more formal context. That doesn’t mean that the informal version is ungrammatical or ‘wrong’ – it can actually be the most appropriate version to choose in the context.
Think of that scene in “My Fair Lady”, where Eliza keeps saying “HOW do you do?” to each of the new people she meets, which seems so funny to Freddie that he replies with “How DO you do?” The way she’d been taught to say it ignored its contemporary usage as a greeting rather than a question, so her intonation ended up sounding odd to other speakers.
Poor thing – wasn’t her fault at all!
Btw, clearly I have no problem with using capitals to emphasise something (especially something already within inverted commas), when bolding, underlining and italics aren’t available, just like on a typewriter. What’s the big issue with that?
to assume is to take on – such as a responsibility.
to presume is to make an educated guess.
Whilst the words are generally interchangeable when the meaning “is suppose” to be the case eg. “I assume/presume you are coming to the party”
The subtlety is in the extent of prior knowlege be the person asking.
Assume is used when there is no proof (or knowlege) that something is the case.
“I assume you are coming to the party” The person asking has no knowlege of what the case would be and is not relying on any other known condition.
For example: The person asking does not know anything else that would lead them to believe the person was coming to the party.
“I assume you are coming to the party, because I expect you would be” (dominant tone)
“I presume you are coming to the party”
Presume is used when the person is relying upon a faint suggestion of presumptuousness or some arguable element they believe exists.
For example: the person asking knows or believes they know some other information that would tend to suggest the person was coming to the party.
“I presume you are coming to the party, because you always have in the past” (passive tone)