grammer

Question

what is the difference between shall and will? where should i use shall.im bit confused about this.

Rover_KE · Accepted Answer

Type shall/will in the Search box and press Enter on your keyboard.

You will find links to previous answers to your question.

Ozzourti · Answer

Let me start off by saying that "shall" is downright rare in American English. You usually hear it only in polite requests. For example, Shall we dance? would be a polite invitation to dance. On the other hand, Will we dance? would most likely be interpreted as a genuine question about the future.

Traditionally, "shall" was used with "I" and "we" to express future events, and "will" was used with the other persons in the same sense. This distinction is probably still observed in formal writing, where you might stumble across something like this: In the third chapter, we shall examine the consequences of global warming.

In old English texts, such as the old English translations of the Bible, you may see the verb "will" expressing one's own volition, wish, or desire:

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.—Matthew 8:2,3 (KJV)

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.—Revelation 11:6 (KJV)

"Shall" was also sometimes used for expressing strong assertions or commands, but I suppose there is no point in dredging up countless examples of how it was used in the past.

It should be pointed out, however, that "will" rarely expresses volition in present-day English. I also think it is safe to say that "shall" is practically nonexistent in most regions of today's English-speaking world, so you would do well to focus solely on "will" for the time being.

(The correct spelling is "grammar" by the way.)

Nat_16 · Answer

thanks. i understood.

grammer

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions