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shall vs will


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Ending a sentence with a preposition? | take it for granted
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shall vs will #1 (permalink) Wed Feb 06, 2008 22:45 pm   shall vs will
 

dear teachers,

when to use shall and will?

thanks! :D
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shall vs will #2 (permalink) Wed Feb 06, 2008 23:42 pm   shall vs will
 

.
You could get along quite nicely in the US without ever using the word 'shall'.

Basically, the word 'shall' is not used to build a future tense in American English -- we simply use 'will'.

In American English, we tend to use 'shall' mainly to make a suggestion in the form of a question ("Shall we go?"), or possibly to offer to do something (also in the form of a question: "Shall I help you with that?"). The use of the word 'shall' also exists in a few fixed phrases, and you'll occasionally find it in used in legal texts.

You would have to ask a Brit about the British usage of 'shall'.

If you do a search on this site, you will be able to find some previous discussions on the topic of 'shall' and 'will'.
.
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shall vs will #3 (permalink) Wed Feb 06, 2008 23:48 pm   shall vs will
 

thank you! :D
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shall vs will #4 (permalink) Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:37 am   shall vs will
 

Once in a while you can hear someone, even in the United States, say, "I will and I shall," which means, "I want to do it, and I definitely will do it."
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shall & will #5 (permalink) Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:20 am   shall & will
 

how can I use the verbs shall & will correctly when they can be used instead of each one at the same time without any strict difference ?
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shall vs will #6 (permalink) Thu Apr 02, 2009 14:36 pm   shall vs will
 

Think this way ....

"Will" is a willingness to do, a prediction, an expectation, a promise. impulse or command to a second party.

"shall" is a suggestion or a command to a third party (as indirectly used within legal contracts)

The explanation is not "all encompassing" and you will find deviations, but it will make sure you are not wrong ...

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shall vs will #7 (permalink) Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:00 am   shall vs will
 

Many thanks for your kind cooperation Mr.Rob
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shall vs will #8 (permalink) Mon Nov 09, 2009 22:02 pm   shall vs will
 

Jamie (K) wrote:
Once in a while you can hear someone, even in the United States, say, "I will and I shall," which means, "I want to do it, and I definitely will do it."


Just heard this phrase in a Simpsons episode (spoken by Bart): This evening I shall go for the squid platter.

Not very American this phrase, I guess?

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shall vs will #9 (permalink) Mon Nov 09, 2009 23:05 pm   shall vs will
 

Perhaps it is ironical: Bart might want to sound affected, imitating old-fashioned or British usage..
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shall vs will #10 (permalink) Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:52 am   shall vs will
 

How would Bart know how to sound affected or British?

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shall vs will #11 (permalink) Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:24 am   shall vs will
 

Well, from television? I'm sure there are many television series whose language is either or both.
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shall vs will #12 (permalink) Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:30 am   shall vs will
 

How many British TV serials or series are there on American TV and why would Bart watch them? To me he doesn't seem to come across as a person who is interested in old-fashioned language or British grammar structures.

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shall vs will #13 (permalink) Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:13 am   shall vs will
 

Haha, well, the Simpsons is also watched by educated Americans who would appreciate the reference, and I have no reason to doubt that whoever writes the script for the Simpsons has some Bildung. It may or may not be realistic for an actual boy like Bart, but such realism isn't necessarily required or expected. Now that I think of it, an episode from Will & Grace comes to mind, where Grace says "awften" and "hwere" for often and where, which Will considers pretentious and affected. I am quite convinced that the average American will encounter such language and accents now and then.
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shall vs will #14 (permalink) Wed Nov 25, 2009 17:47 pm   shall vs will
 

There is actually quite a bit more to future expression than most people realise. Here is a link to probably the most complete discussion of the future tenses in English (including shall vs will):

http://calleteach.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/an-inventory-and-discussion-of-english-futurity.pdf
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The difference between shall and will #15 (permalink) Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:28 am   The difference between shall and will
 

Hello,

Can you explain the usage of will and shall?

Thanks in advance

Regards,
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