shall and other modals

[Sitifan]

Haven't I told you already that you ___ have my answer tomorrow morning?
(A) will (B) shall (C) should (D) would
The answer is option B. But I feel that all the four options are grammatical.
Can anyone tell me why the other options are incorrect?
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Thank you very much for your reply.

[Alan]

Hi Sitifan,

To be honest I find 'shall' the least suitable of the choices. Let's look at the others. 'Will' suggests: 'You are going to have my answers'. 'Should' indicates: 'It is probable that you will have my answer.' 'Would' is used to show that this is a reported speech use - 'I say you will' becomes 'I said you would.' 'Shall' when it's used with the second and third person usually indicates an order. In the Christian religion the 10 commandments or orders tell believers how they must live. We see for example - 'You shall not kill'. This is not a request but an order. That's why I suggest that 'shall' is the one that doesn't really fit here but the other 3 would work.

Hope that clarifies a bit.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Sitifan]

[Sureshvemuri]

Hi Alan,

Good answer.

Thanks,
Suresh