Everything you need to know

The future using will or shall.

Commonly Confused Words.

The Difference!

When Should We Use?

Exercises.

The future using will or shall

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The simple future

will

'Will' does not change its form.

I, you, he, she, it, we, they   will

I'll

you'll

he'll

she'll 

we'll 

they'll

and even (although it's not good English) you might hear -

it'll.

The negative of 'will' is 'will not' - often shortened to won't

I, you, he, she, it, we, they will not / won't

For example

+ -

  I will go.   I'll go.   I won't go

  You will go.   You'll go.   You won't go

  He will go.   He'll go.   He won't go

  She will go.   She'll go.   She won't go

  It will go.   It'll go.   It won't go

  We will go.   We'll go.   We won't go

  They will go.   They'll go.   They won't go

'Will' on its own is not used for things we have arranged or decided to do.

NOTE:

"Will" is usually used in these situations:-

Volunteering to do something: (The phone is ringing). I'll answer it.

Promising to do something:(A friend is leaving) I'll visit you in the summer.

Deciding to do something :(Your car won't start) I'll buy a new car.

Ordering someone to do something:(Your child won't do their homework) You'll do your homework now!

Predicting something will happen(Winter is coming) I think it will be a cold winter.

Sometimes you can use 'will' as a threat.

Don't move or I'll shoot!

'Will' is often used with think - "I think I will ..."NOTE:

  Positive (+) Negative (-)

Statement I'll do my homework now.I won't do my homework later.

Statement(using think)

I think she'll go to the cinema tonight.

I don't think she'll go to the cinema tomorrow.

Question (using will)

Will there be a test on Monday?

Won't there be a test on Monday?

Question (closed) Do you think they'll win?Do you think they won't win?

Question (open)What do you think he'll do in the summer holidays?

 

Shall

'Shall' does not change its form.

I, you, he, she, it, we, they shall.

'Shall' is also shortened to ...'ll.

I'll, you'll, he'll, she'll, we'll, they'll - and even (although it's not good English) it'll

The negative of 'shall' is 'shall not' - often shortened to shan't

I, you, he, she, it, we, they shall not / shan't

In British English 'Shall' is often used instead of will in the first person (I/we).

I / We will  = I / We shallI shall be at work on time.    =   I will be at work on time.

We shall win the competition.   

=   We will win the competition.

They shall not pass!   =   They shan't pass!

'Shall' is also often used in the first person (I/we) in questions when asking for permission, making suggestions, making an offer or asking for advice.

Shall I do that?

Shall we go home?

 will  won't

 shall  shan'tMain

Commonly Confused Words

In contemporary American English, the auxiliary verb shall is rarely used. In British English, shall and will are often used interchangeably with no difference of meaning in most circumstances. Internationally, will is now the standard choice for expressing future plans and expectations. However, in first-person questions shall is often used to express politeness, and in legal statements, shall is used with a third-person subject for stating requirements.

According to R.L. Trask (see below), traditional rules regarding shall and will are "little more than a fantastic invention."

The editors of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage conclude that such rules "do not appear to have described real usage of these words very precisely at any time, although there is no question that they do describe the usage of some people some of the time and that they are more applicable in England than elsewhere."

Bryan A. Garner observes that "there's simply no reason to hold on to shall. The word is peripheral in American English" (Garner's Modern American Usage).

Please see the usage notes below.

Examples:

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time." (Barack Obama)

"The British Constitution has always been puzzling and always will be." (Queen Elizabeth II)

I will call you later.

"Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

"Down the stairs? Well, don't stop when you get to the basement. Keep straight on. Give my regards to the earth's core! And if you give us any more trouble, I shall visit you in the small hours and put a bat up your nightdress." (Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers)

Shall we dance?

Usage Notes:

"There is a traditional textbook ruling that runs as follows. For simple futurity, you use shallafter I or we but will after everything else, while, to express determination or command, you use will after I or we but shall after everything else. By these rules, the required forms are We shall finish tonight (simple statement) versus We will finish tonight (expressing determination), but They will finish tonight (simple statement) versus They shall finish tonight (an order).

"As grammarians never tire of pointing out, these bizarre rules do not accurately describe the real usage of careful speakers at any time or in any place in the history of English, and they are little more than a fantastic invention. If you are one of the handful of speakers for whom these rules now seem completely natural, then by all means go ahead and follow them. But, if you are not, just forget about them, and use your natural forms.

"However, in Britain, the very formal written English used in drafting laws and regulations requires the use of shall with a third-person subject for stating requirements. Example: An average of 40 percent shall be deemed a pass at Honours level. Britons engaged in doing such writing must fall into line here.

"Do not try to use shall if the word does not feel entirely natural, and especially don't try to use it merely in the hope of sounding more elegant. Doing so will probably produce something that is acceptable to no one."(R.L. Trask, Say What You Mean! A Troubleshooter's Guide to English Style & Usage, David R. Godine, 2005)

"[T]he distinction between intention and futurity can be hazy, and grammarians of C17 and C18 devised an odd compromise whereby both shall and will could express one or the other, depending on the grammatical person involved. . . . Research by Fries (1925) into the language of English drama from C17 on showed that this division of labor was artificial even in its own time. These paradigms were however enshrined in textbooks of later centuries and still taught a few decades ago. Their neglect is one of the better consequences of abandoning the teaching of grammar in schools."(Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Cambridge University Press, 2004)

"British people use I shall/I will and we shall/we will with no difference of meaning in most situations. However, shall is becoming very much less common than will. Shall is not normally used in American English. . . .

"Shall and will are not only used for giving information about the future. They are also common in offers, promises, orders and similar kinds of 'interpersonal' language use. In these cases, will (or 'll) generally expresses willingness, wishes or strong intentions (this is connected with an older use of will to mean 'wish' or 'want'). Shall expresses obligation (like a more direct form of should)."(Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1995)

"In colloquial and indeed all spoken English . . . will is fast displacing shall in all cases in which shall was formerly used and in which we are recommended to use it. . . . It survives chiefly in first person questions, where it usefully distinguishes 'Shall I open the window?' (as an offer or proposal) from 'Will I need a towel?' (= will it be necessary). It is useful that the construction 'll stands for both shall and will."(Eric Partridge, Usage and Abusage, edited by Janet Whitcut, W.W. Norton, 1995)

"Use shall to express determination: We shall overcome. You and he shall stay.

"Either shall or will may be used in first-person constructions that do not emphasize determination: We shall hold a meeting. We will hold a meeting.

"For second- and third-person constructions, use will unless determination is stressed: You will like it. She will not be pleased."(The Associated Press 2009 Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, Basic Books, 2009)

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The Difference Between “will” and “shall”

Reader Eric wonders about the uses of will and shall.When do you use “will” and “shall?” I know that [they] mean the same thing, but I would like to know when to use them in the correct grammatical sense.In modern English will and shall are helping verbs. They are used with other verbs, but lack conjugations of their own.Both are signs of the future tense.The old Walsh English Handbook that I used in high school gives this rule for forming the future:Use shall in the first person and will in the second and third persons for the simple future tense:I shall sing this afternoon.You will succeed.He will stay at home.

My observations suggest that shall is rarely used by American speakers.

The two words existed as separate verbs in Old English, the form of English spoken from 450-1150 C.E.

The verb willan meant “wish, be willing, be about to.”

The verb sculan (pronounced [shu-lan], had the meanings “be obliged to, have to, must, be destined to, be supposed to.”

In modern usage traces of the old meanings persist for speakers who use both forms.

Will can imply volition or intention, while shall can imply necessity:

I will scale Mount Everest. (“and no one can stop me!”)

You shall take the garbage out before you do anything else. (“You have no choice, Junior!”)

A second element enters into the use of shall and will.

As a matter of courtesy, a difference exists according to whether the verb is used with a first or second person subject. Which to use depends upon the relationship between speakers.

Parents, teachers, employers, and staff sergeants are within their rights to tell someone “You shall complete this assignment by 9 p.m.” Such a construction offers no alternative. It is the same as saying “You must complete this assignment.”

In speaking to an equal, however, the choice is left up to the other person:

I shall drive to Tulsa today. You will follow on Tuesday. (It’s still up to you.)

Here’s a frequently quoted joke that illustrates the consequences of using shall and will incorrectly:

A foreign tourist was swimming in an English lake. Taken by cramps, he began to sink. He called out for help:“Attention! Attention! I will drown and no one shall save me!”Many people were within earshot, but, being well-brought up Englishmen and women, they honored his wishes and permitted him to drown.

All of which is the short answer to Eric’s question. For the long answer, take a look at Fowler (Modern English Usage) and the OED.

By the way, the verb will in the sense of “bequeath” derives from the noun will in the sense of “wish.” A will expresses the wishes of the person who writes it. The verb will (bequeath) does possess a complete conjugation.

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When Should We Use "Shall" and "Will"?

Traditionally, shall is used for the future tense with the first-person pronouns I and We: I shall, we shall. Will is used with the first-person (again, I refer to traditional usage) only when we wish to express determination. The opposite is true for the second-person (you) and third-person (he, she, it, they) pronouns: Will is used in the future tense, and shall is used only when we wish to express determination or to emphasize certainty.

Although this is the traditional distinction between shall and will, many linguists and grammarians have challenged this rule, and it is often not observed, even in formal writing. Personally, I still try to remember to follow it, even though the use of shall seems to be declining.

Here are some examples, applying the traditional rule.

First-person pronouns:

> I shall attend the meeting. (Simple future tense)

> I will attend the meeting. (Simple future tense but with an added sense of certainty or determination)

> Regardless of the weather, we shall go to the city. (Simple future tense)

> Regardless of the weather, we will go to the city. (Simple future tense but with an added sense of certainty or determination)

Second-person pronoun:

> You will receive a refund. (Simple future tense)

> You shall receive a refund. (Simple future tense but with an added sense of certainty or determination)

Third-person pronoun:

> It will be done on time. (Simple future tense)

> It shall be done on time. (Simple future tense but with an added sense of certainty or determination)

I believe that will is usually the better choice with second- and third-person pronouns. If we wish to express certainty or determination, we do not need to use shall but can provide emphasis by using an adverb, such as certainly or definitely. However, I believe that the distinction between shall and will that I mention above is useful with first-person pronouns.

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Practice Tests

Try each of the following practices and see how you do. Follow the instructions.

So if you are ready just click the button bellow and start.

GOOD LUCK!

Practice 1:

(a) Let's go into the church, _____ we?

(b) If you build it, he _____ come.

(c) Merdine _____ bring the salad.

Shall and Will

Shall Will

Shall Will

Shall Will

Read each sentence and click on the correct word.

1. _____ I be able to see my house from the plane? a) b)

2. _____ I carry that suitcase for you? It looks heavy! a) b)

3. _____ we have enough money to support ourselves? a) b)

4. _____ Liz and Carol have Christmas dinner with their parents? a) b)

5. _____ we call it a day and continue working on the project tomorrow? a) b)

Practice 2: Shall and Will

Read each sentence and click on the correct word.

Will Shall

Will Shall

Will Shall

Will Shall

Will Shall

6. _____ I have any problems accessing my account information over the Internet? a) b)

7. _____ Mr. Smith be here soon? I need to talk to him about the Peterson contract. a) b)

8. _____ we just tell Ms. Johnson the truth? Someone is bound to tell her if we don’t. a) b)

9. _____ I get you something warm to drink, like a cup of tea or a bowl of chicken soup? a) b)

10. _____ we need to buy any additional software if we link our server with other servers on the Internet? a) b)

Will Shall

Will Shall

Will Shall

Will Shall

Will Shall

Practice 3: Will or Won’t

Read each sentence and click on the correct word.

1. Don't get up, I …………… answer the phone.

2. If you eat too much you ………………. put on weight.

3. Don't stay out too late, you ……………….. get up on time.

4. I don't think she ……………. pass the exam, she isn't very good.

5. You may as well go home now, I ………………… be back for hours.

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

6. Go to bed and you …………….feel better tomorrow.

7. It's Mary's birthday next month. She ………….. be 18.

8. They are on holiday for two weeks so they …………be here tomorrow.

9. ……………. they want dinner?

10. If the weather is ok, the plane ………………leave on time.

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

Will Won’t

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