Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

jasonlulu_2000 · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 879

Those who can lose shall gain; those who wish for gain shall lose.

Why is "shall" used here? What does it mean?

Can I use "should" or "may" instead?

Thanks

pugachevV · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2295

The traditional rules as to when to use shall and will are as follows:- When forming the future tense, shall should be used with I and we I shall be late, we shall not be moved.., while will should be used with you, he, she it and they He will not be there.

However, when expressing determination or a command, this rule is reversed: will is used with I and we (I will not tolerate this), and shall is used with you, he, she, it and they (they shall not pass). In practice though, these rules are not strictly followed and the contracted forms (I'll, she'll etc) are used instead, especially in spoken and informal contexts.