Shall and will

Question

Hello,Do you use 'shall' and 'will' interchangeably with  I and we when expressing a strong determination?Eg.I will  or shall not tolerate such behaviour.We will  or shall not telerate such behaviour.Thanks

Fivejedjon · Accepted Answer

Most native speakers use only 'will' to express strong determination. Forget 'shall'.

Nina_Nia · Answer

I would love to forget, but aren't there some cases in which using shall is a must?

Blue Jay · Answer

Nina_NiaI would love to forget, but aren't there some cases in which using shall is a must?

Not in everyday use. Shall is sometimes found in the wording of laws to indicate that someone must and will do something (If any vacancy occurs in the office of sheriff, the coroner of the county shall execute all process directed to the sheriff until the first meeting of the county commissioners next succeeding such vacancy, when the board shall elect a sheriff to supply the vacancy for the residue of the term, who shall possess the same qualifications, enter into the same bond, and be subject to removal, as the sheriff regularly elected.) and there may be other specialized uses where it is standard practice to use shall, but generally you can use either and most people normally use will.

CalifJim · Answer

Nina_Nia Hello,Do you use 'shall' and 'will' interchangeably with I and we when expressing a strong determination?Eg.I will or shall not tolerate such behaviour.We will or shall not telerate such behaviour.Thanks

You can literally spend your entire life in the U.S. without ever hearing or saying "shall" (even though most people have probably heard it a few times).

Yes, some people use it in certain situations, but you don't have to. There is always another way of saying what you want to say without using "shall".
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You must be using a very old book if it's telling you things about I and we with shall. I think that all that kind of advice died out in my grandmother's generation.

CJ

Fivejedjon · Answer

CalifJimYou must be using a very old book if it's telling you things about I and we with shall. I think that all that kind of advice died out in my grandmother's generation.

I still observe the shall/will difference, but that's because I am British, approaching 70, product of a rather formal education, and conservative. I was in a minority back in the 1960s, and there certainly aren't many of us left today. I haven't inflicted it on my learners for nearly 40 years.

Shall and will

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