[Tulsa Brian]

Actually, will and shall have always tripped me up...:-)

[Erasmus]

Actually, will and shall have always tripped me up...:-)

This probably depends on whose style manual you adhere to. Here's the way I was learnt:

When in first person (I/we), shall implies the mere intention to do or be something in the future. Will intensifies that intention. For example, 'I shall go to the store tomorrow' means a simple prediction, whereas 'I will go to the store tomorrow' implies a definite intention and commitment to do so.

When in second or third person (you/he/they), it is reversed. Will is a simple declaration of future action or being, and shall is a statement of definite intent, amounting to an imperative (command) on behalf of the speaker.

I believe the rule given above for the first person case has died due to common usage to the contrary. 'I shall go to the store' now sounds stilted in virtually every context in American English.

[bannie]

will and shall

AS I BELIEVE IT TO BE, "will" is not as absolute as "shall."

I SHALL, however, research this one further: There must be more to it...such as the auxillary verb thing. Offhand, I'm not thinking of all of the rules for this. Great question.

:-)

[jejones]

Well... I don't know whether the distinction that I was given in school was ever really used. In school I was told that "will" is simple future, but "shall" indicates intent. (I vaguely recall even being told that the distinction depended in part on first person versus second and third, so that for second and third person it's the other way around!) Etymologically, this makes no sense, because "will" is cognate to Dutch and German "willen," to want (e.g. "Ik wil een kopje koffie kopen," "I want to buy a cup of coffee."), so "will" ought to indicate intent.


It does at least give rise to a bad joke. Q: how can you tell which of two drowning English teachers is committing suicide? A: The suicide cries out "I shall drown; no one will save me!" while the victim cries out "I will drown; no one shall save me!" (Miss Methvin, wherever you are, I'm sorry...)