Hello and welcome to LetThemTalk, my name is Gideon
and today we are going to talk about how to use the modal verb "shall"
and the difference between "will" and "shall".
Let's have a look.
The first use of "shall" is for expressing the future and is similar to "will".
Look at these two sentences and tell me which you think is correct.
Well, actually both are correct
but. although "shall" is less often used than "will", the traditional
rules say that you use "shall" with the first person
I and we, and "will" with you, he, she, it and they.
This is because originally, "shall" was used with the meaning of obligation
and "will" with the meaning of desire or intention.
But these days most people will use "will" and not "shall"
as in "I will be there tomorrow" especially when speaking and
that's perfectly correct or, if you contract the sentence "I'll be there tomorrow",
we don't know if "shall" or "will" is being used, and, again it's correct.
There is one advanced point, and, this is only for the traditional rules, if you want
to say that something must definitely happen then the rules of "shall" and "will" I mentioned before
are switched. So "will" is used with the first person "I" and "we" and
"shall" is used for "you", "he", "she", "it" and "they".
This use is rare and usually limited to formal situations
and legal documents to talk about obligation for example.
"The Authority shall be responsible for the safety of the equipment."
And also to talk about giving commands such as
the commandment in the bible "you shall not kill"
Let me just repeat what I said earlier, when talking about the future it's perfectly ok
to use "will" instead of "shall" but it's good to know the rule in case you hear somebody
or read something using "shall" because it is still used sometimes in conversation as well
as in formal written English.
You might get the impression that the use of "shall" is dying out but there is still one
case where "shall" is still used and that is for making offers, and suggestions. We use
it with "I" and "we" in questions. Here you cannot substitute "will" for "shall". Let's look at some examples.
You must be thirsty shall I get you a drink?
You're busy shall I call back tomorrow?
Shall I play you a song?
If you want to make a suggestion which includes yourself and
another person or other people use " shall we" for example, Shall we go?
Shall we speak English?
Shall we take the train ?
An important point to remember is that we
respond to a suggestion with a "shall we" question with "let's".
For example "shall we go?" The response will be " yes, let's."
"Shall we buy a new car?" - " yes, let's" The negative is no "let's not".
"Shall we stay at this hotel?". - "No, let's not "
"Shall we eat here?" - "No, let's not"
You can also this shall form to ask for advice or confirmation often with a question word
word such as "what", "when", "who" or "how". Here are some examples
"What shall I get Jill for her birthday?"
"Who shall I call?"
When shall we arrive?
Remember you must use "shall" here if you use "will" it completely changes the meaning. In
the last example:
"When shall we arrive?" means when do you think is the best time to arrive
"When will we arrive?" Is a question that asks information about the future and means
what time do we arrive at our destination.
Thanks for watching more English grammar videos coming soon.