Shall is a modal auxiliary verb. It is used with I or we to talk about the future:
• I shall be very sad here without you.
• We shall bring you back something nice from Paris.
Will can be used instead of "shall" in these cases, and it sounds more natural to many people:• I'll (I will) be very sad here without you.
• We'll (We will) bring you back something nice from Paris.
The contracted negative form of shall is shan't (shall not):• I shan't stand for any nonsense!
The most common way in which we use shall is...
in offers:
• Shall I help you with your homework?
— Oh, yes. That would be great.
in suggestions:• Shall we go out for dinner tonight?
— Yes. OK. We could try that new fish restaurant.
in requests for instructions:
• Where shall I put the shopping?
— Put it in the kitchen, please.
and in requests for advice:
Honesty is the best policy.
Note that we don't use shall to answer questions with shall.
In older English, shall was also used in the second person (you) and third person (he, she, it) when the speaker made a promise or a threat. For example, Cinderella's fairy godmother promises: "You shall go to the ball!"
This construction is still used today, but it sounds old-fashioned.
Now try the exercise on the next page.
Dagmar Taylor
Ehrlich währt am längsten.
Versprechen
Drohung
Aschenputtel
gute Fee; godmother = Patentante
