Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[muni]

dear friends
please tell me when I should use shall .I have read in the grammer that we use shall with "I" and "we",but I have seen that people use will with "I" and "we"
for example
I will be there
or
I will miss you
so when we use shall ,please help
regards
muni

[bud]

I almost never hear anyone use "shall." It's so archaic that it sounds pretentious. Except for on a test or maybe while watching an old movie, you can forget about it and use "will" instead.

[muni]

so I should use "will" with I ,we,he and she. It would not make a difference.
thanks for help.

[bud]

That's right, Muni. I think it's almost universal that speakers say...

I will
You will
He/She/It will

We will
You will
They will

[obelix]

Except for "Shall we dance?"
Also, "shall" expresses a more emphatic intention than "will"; as in McArthur's often quoted "I shall return."

You also see it used in the Bible and legal statutes to state a command or duty.
For instance, in the ten commandments "Thou shalt not kill."
"No person shall drive without lights after dark."
And so on.

[bud]

Yes! Good point.

I amend what I said before with an "almost never."