Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. How British is it to use “shall”? Ron V grammar I learned it this way. The statement, "I will do something" implies that it is my "will" that it be done - regardless of what you may think. This is a stronger and less polite statement than "I shall do something". On the other hand, the sentence "You shall do something" implies that you do it regardless of *your* "will". It is a strong statement - essentially a command. A softer and more polite statement is, "You will do something" since it implies that it will be done if it is *your* "will" - not mine. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=19613#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=19613#Comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:50:50 GMT Shanti grammar Wow...thank you so much for this information. I'm an Indonesian who works as a legal translator at a law firm in Indonesia. The lawyers at my office tends to use 'shall' in every English version documents they make, even in general correspondences or internal memos, because it seems that they hold on to the idea that it's mandatory using 'shall' in ALL legal docs. I've always had the same reason as you said here, but I think they kinda don't believe me (because I didnt have strong reference to show/prove *lawyers always need proof* :D) that some of them keep changing my selection of 'must' n 'will' into 'shall' in the translations I make, translations of letters n internal memos, in this case. But now I can just say to them, "Well, Grammar Girl said...." although they probably will think 'who the hell is Grammar Girl' hahaha. Anyway, thx a lot.... http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=16332#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=16332#Comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:35:34 GMT Jason grammar Hm. Is it just my corner of the English-speaking world (British Columbia), but 'shall' doesn't seem that odd. However, when I reflect on it, there's a strange duality about this word: To say, "Shall we go for a walk", is perfectly normal. But to reply, "Yes, we shall", sounds somewhat over the top, almost mocking. Verb (shall) + pronoun = good Pronoun + verb (shall) = bad http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=15376#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=15376#Comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:47:27 GMT Monica grammar I have a tough one for you. There's a sign at the park that says "Owners must keep dogs on a leash" and then adds "Owners shall pick up animal waste". My friend thinks "shall" means it's optional, but "must" means it's required. I said they're both required if you don't want to pay the fine. The city ordinance is also given on the sign. Both define "unlawful" activities in the city ordinance - I looked it up on the web. Class C misdemeanor. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=14986#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=14986#Comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:44:22 GMT graciela grammar Excellent and helpful http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13629#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13629#Comments Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:50:17 GMT Molly grammar Regarding the legal use of shall: Your explanation says it denotes an obligation, but your example -- this lease shall commence -- does not create an obligation; it is simply descriptive. A correct example is "you shall pay your rent no later than the third day of each month." http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13251#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13251#Comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:56:16 GMT Rob grammar 'Evelyn' Waugh is actually Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh, and his name is pronounced 'eev-lyn'. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13197#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13197#Comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:48:14 GMT James grammar I was taught the difference between 'will' and 'shall' with the following two sentences: "I shall drown and no-one will save me." "I will drown and no-one shall save me." The first sentence implies that the speaker does not wish to drown, but is likely to nonetheless; and the onlookers will choose not to save them: the second implies that the speaker chooses to drown, and the onlookers will not be able to save them. In my mind, 'will' implies that the subject chose to perform some action, but 'shall' implies that the action is mandatory. However, in questions, I get the feeling that the implications are reversed: the phrase "When will we get there?" gives the impression that there is no choice, but it will happen when it happens: "When shall we get there?" indicates that the subjects are choosing when to arrive. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13180#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13180#Comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:20:53 GMT Uranus grammar Thank you~ I am a Chinese high school student. This podcast is really helpful for me to learn Enlish and tell the defference between American English and British English.Although there are still a lot of vocabularies that I have never seen before, I think this podcast is really improving my Enlish~ http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13176#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13176#Comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:45:41 GMT Nicole grammar Thanks for making grammar look so pretty again. :-) Love it! http://greencirclestudio.blogspot.com http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13173#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx?commentid=13173#Comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:39:46 GMT Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:50:50 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/shall-versus-will.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us