Shall vs will: what are the rules behind using those? (2024)

3 years ago

The answer is

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The traditional rule is that shall is used with first person pronouns (i.e. I and we) to form the future tense, while will is used with second and third person forms (i.e. you, he, she, it, they). For example: I shall be late. They will not have enough food.

"Shall" is used mainly in formal situations with the first person –We shall be pleased to accept your invitationWill and shall are modal verbs. They are used with the base form of the main verb (They will go; I shall ask her). Shall is only used for future time reference with I and we, and is more formal than will.

The traditional rule is that shall is used with first person pronouns (i.e. I and we) to form the future tense, while will is used with second and third person forms (i.e. you, he, she, it, they). For example: I shall be late.

As a general rule, use ‘will’ for affirmative and negative sentences about the future. Use ‘will’ for requests too. If you want to make an offer or suggestion with I/we, use ‘shall’ in the question form. For very formal statements, especially to describe obligations, use ‘shall’.

In the past, ‘shall’ was often used as an alternative to ‘will’, and you can find many examples of ‘shall’ in famous literary works. But in modern English we usually prefer ‘will’ for affirmative and negative sentences. However, we still use ‘shall’ to form questions with ‘I’ and ‘we’, especially in British English.

Will and shall are modal verbs and are used as the base form of the main verb. Example: They will go; I shall ask her.Shall is only used for future time reference with 'I' and 'we'. We use shall more than will when we are talking or writing in a formal way.In speaking, shall and will are usually contracted to ’ll: I’ll, we’ll, you’ll, they’ll, she’ll, he’ll, it’ll.Example: We’ll meet outside the lobby. / I’ll be at the market. / She’ll be here tomorrow.We also use will and shall to make predictions and also when we want to stat a fact about the future:Example: There will be heavy rains in the coming days. We shall need an extra camp on our next camping expedition. Shall and will are also used when we want to write or talk about decisions and offers.Example:A: What color would you like, blue or red.B: I’ll have the blue one, please. (decision)A: I’ll carry the bag for you. (offer)B: Thanks, you are very gentle.

a general rule, use ‘will’ for affirmative and negative sentences about the future. Use ‘will’ for requests too. If you want to make an offer or suggestion with I/we, use ‘shall’ in the question form. For very formal statements, especially to describe obligations, use ‘shall’

As an auxiliary to express simple futurity, in British English the tradition is to use shall with the first person pronouns: We shall be in London tomorrow. And to use will with the other persons: She will take the test now. But with the extended use of the contractions we'll, I'll, they'll they are now used interchangeably in statements as part of standard British and US English.

3 years ago

The answer is

:

As a general rule, use "will" for affirmative and negative sentences about the future. Use "will" for requests too. If you want to make an offer or Suggestion with I/we, use "shall" in the question form. For very formal statements, especially to describe obligations, use "shall".

Shall is a modal used to:1. precede a a bare infinitive to express future as in "I shall dance". In this use, it is equivalent to "will", and it is only employed with the pronouns "I" and "we".2. express offer as in "Shall we go for a walk?, that is, "How about going for a walk?"3. to determine a ruling or a law court sentence or a legal measure as in "He who infringes the law shall be sued". This use of shall gets along with the 3rd pronoun , singular/plural.

The word shall is now seldom used in any context in American English

3 years ago

The answer is

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