Modal will and shall

Modal Willand Shall

modal will

I’ll help you.

‘will’ expresseswillingness

‘will’ expressesvolontà

there is no equivalent verbin Italian

BUT there is the same idea

io ci pensoci penso io

io ci pensoci penso io

what’s the difference?

io ci pensoci penso io

fact

io ci pensoci penso io

offer to help

io ci pensoci penso io

modal idea!

io ci pensoci penso io

io ci pensoci penso io

will

A: “I’m hungry.”B:

A: “I’m hungry.”B: “I’ll make you a sandwich.”

A: “Can I have the wine-list.”B:

A: “Can I have the wine-list.”B: “I’ll bring it for you.”

A: “I’ve lost your phone number.”B:

A: “I’ve lost your phone number.”B: “I’ll give it to you again.”

A: “Dring-dring, dring-dring.”B:

A: “Dring-dring, dring-dring.”B: “I’ll answer it.”

A: “Dring-dring, dring-dring.”B: “I’ll answer it.”

“Rispondo io.”

A: “Dring-dring, dring-dring.”B: “I’ll answer it.”

present

A: “Dring-dring, dring-dring.”B: “I’ll answer it.”

modal

compare

I answer the phone

I answer the phonewhen my boss is out.

I answer the phonewhen my boss is out.

Present Simple

I answer the phonewhen my boss is out.

habit

I answer the phonewhen my boss is out.

this is what I do every time

but

I’ll answer the phone

I’ll answer the phone(it’s ringing now)

I’ll answer the phone(it’s ringing now)

PresentModal

I’ll answer the phone(it’s ringing now)

I offer to answer

I’ll answer the phone(it’s ringing now)

this time(now)

!

I answer the phone(it’s ringing now)

the Present Simple is an

error

other meanings of‘modal will’

Ask Sarah, she’ll help you.

Ask Sarah, she’ll help you.

imperative

Ask Sarah, she’ll help you.

explanation

it’s like a 1st conditional

Ask Sarah, she’ll help you.=

If you ask

Anna’ll be at home nowso we can visit her.

supposition

I’ll buy you a bicyclefor your birthday.

I’ll buy you a bicyclefor your birthday.

promising

modal shall

Shall I carry your bags?

‘shall’ is a modal verbthat asks about the desires or

wishes of another person

‘modal shall’ is used in questions in the 1st person

singular and plural

‘modal shall’ is used in questions in the 1st person

singular and plural

Shall I …?Shall we …?

Shall I carry your bags?

Do you want me to carry…

Shall we go to the cinema?

Shall we go to the cinema?

proposal for the group

compare

Let’s go to the cinema!

Let’s go to the cinema!

imperative for the group

What film shall we see?

What film shall we see?

request for proposal

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