Welcome to twominuteenglish.com. Teaching you English through two-minute lessons.
In this lesson we will learn the correct uses of ‘shall’ and ‘will’.
Hello, everybody. Today we’ll talk about ‘shall’ and ‘will’. They are used when talking about the future.
That’s right, Anna. The modal verb ‘shall’ is rarely used, except in fixed expressions
usually in questions like ‘shall we dance?’, ‘shall I pick you up?’, or ‘shall we leave?’.
And we also use ‘shall’ when we talk about something we really believe we should do, and think it is our responsibility.
It is a feeling that comes from the speaker.
Yes. A politician might say: ‘If I am elected, I shall end hunger in our country’.
He believes he can, and also that it is his responsibility to do so.
Correct. It can also be like a promise to yourself. For example, if my dream is to visit France, I could say ‘I shall visit France before I die’.
Yes. And because the feeling comes from the speaker, we rarely see ‘shall’ used with second and third persons.
You’re absolutely right, Joe. But you will see that in the Bible, for example.
There are the commandments that came from God, and He says ‘You shall not kill’; He can do that because he’s God.
Well, Anna, my mom isn’t God, but she tells me:
‘Joe, you shall study two hours every day after school if you want to go to Australia at the end of the year!’.
Well, Joe, you have to admit that’s not so bad…
I guess you’re right. And I’ll do it. I shall dedicate myself to my studies.
That’s a good boy. And since you used ‘will’, let’s talk about this modal verb a little. ‘I will do it’ means that this is inevitable.
When a speaker uses ‘will’ he believes something is sure to happen.In other words,he is 100% certain of what he’s saying.
Ok. So, if I say ‘It will rain today’, I’m absolutely sure it will.
That’s right. You could be wrong, but at the moment you say ‘will’, you have no doubt it will rain.
It can also mean that you promise to do something. For example, ‘I will lend you the money’.
And, it can simply refer to a future moment, like ‘Tomorrow, I’ll visit my mom’.
And it can mean that you’re ready or prepared to do something. If the phone rings or I hear the doorbell, I say ‘I’ll get it’.
Great!! Let’s see some conversations for more examples.
Where is Samir? We need him for the presentation!
Don’t worry. He will be here.
Shall I call him?
If he’s driving, he won’t answer his cell.
Yeah, but I will go nuts if I don’t do something.
You’ll have a heart attack if you don’t calm down.
Right. In the future, I shall prepare all the presentations.
I’m going to call you next time we go to the beach house.
You always say that, but you never call…
I will call! I promise!
Do you know when you’ll go back there?
No. We’ll try to go next holiday.
Oh, listen! Do you remember that song?
Yes! It always reminds me of you!
Shall we dance?
I’d love to.
‘If I am elected, I shall end hunger in our country’.
‘I shall visit France before I die’.
And I’ll do it. I shall dedicate myself to my studies.
‘It will rain today’, I’m absolutely sure it will.
Don’t worry. He will be here.
Shall I call him?
In the future, I shall prepare all the presentations.
I will call! I promise!
We’ll try to go next holiday.
Shall we dance?