英语语法：150 “Shall” Versus “Will”

Grammar Girl here. This episode concerns your future: whether you should use shall or will.

Guest-writer Bonnie Trenga writes, there are two sets of rules: the stickler¹ version and the people’s version. There is also the British version and the American version.

Shall in Britain

The stickler version and British version line up pretty well with each other: tradition holds that you use shall to indicate the future if you are using first person (I or we) and will if you are using second or third person (you, he, she, or they).

So, in England, it would be perfectly² normal to say, “I shall have tea with my grandmother tomorrow.” In America, that would sound odd. We Americans would be more likely to have coffee and to say, “I will take my grandmother out for a latte tomorrow.”

Shall With Determination

The British traditionally use shall to express determination or intention on the part of the speaker or someone other than the subject of the verb. Fowler’s offers an example from British author Evelyn Waugh: “One day you shall know my full story.” This does seem to offer a different connotation than “One day you will know my full story.” It makes the author sound more determined³. However, using shall in this way isn't common in America (1).

Shall in America

In America, will has replaced shall in all but a few cases. If you use shall in the British way during normal conversation, you might end up sounding pretentious⁴ or haughty⁵ (2).

The most common two places you’ll see shall in America are in legal documents and in lofty prose (3).

The Legal Shall

Shall in a legal sense often indicates explicit⁶ obligation. If you’ve signed a lease lately, you’ve probably encountered a sentence like this: “This lease shall commence on January 1.” In general usage, though, you use must or should to express obligation: “You must pay your rent on time.” However, some sources say that even American lawyers may be moving away from shall because of its alleged⁷ ambiguity⁸ (1).

The Lofty Shall

Even if lawyers give up shall, great orators⁹ and authors will probably still use it to deliver uplifting prose. You’ll encounter shall in the Bible, and you’ve probably heard it in famous songs or speeches. “We shall overcome” comes to mind, as does the end of the Gettysburg Address: “…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” (4).

The Polite Shall

Shall does have a couple of other legitimate¹⁰ uses in American English. You might hear it in a first-person question in which the speaker is being polite or offering an invitation: “Shall I take your coat, ma’am?” or using playful formality, as in “Shall we dance?”

The Idiomatic¹¹ Shall

It’s also possible to use shall in place of will if using will would be unidiomatic, for example, “I’ll just go buy some more milk then, shall I?” (1). However, to me, this sounds more British than American. “I would guess that most Americans wouldn't say that sentence,” Bonnie says. “It’s hard for me to tell because I was born and raised in London but then moved to America at age 10.

I think I tend to use shall more than my American-born husband, so I asked him his opinion. He stated, 'No American under 80 uses shall.'” That's probably 99% true, unless you’re a lawyer or a regular citizen who is being extra polite or quoting the Bible.

The bottom line is that will has replaced shall in almost all cases in American English. If you’re tired of using will, feel free to use be going to instead, as in “This podcast is going to be over momentarily.”

Administrative¹²

This show was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at........That's all. Thanks for listening.

 

1 stickler   

n.坚持细节之人

参考例句：

• She's a real stickler for etiquette,so you'd better ask her advice.她非常讲求礼节，所以你最好问她的意见。
• You will find Mrs. Carboy a stickler about trifles.您会发现卡博太太是个拘泥小节的人。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 pretentious   

adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• He is a talented but pretentious writer.他是一个有才华但自命不凡的作家。
• Speaking well of yourself would only make you appear conceited and pretentious.自夸只会使你显得自负和虚伪。

5 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

6 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

9 orators   

n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The hired orators continued to pour forth their streams of eloquence. 那些雇来的演说家继续滔滔不绝地施展辩才。 来自辞典例句
• Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and the fine words from stay-at-home orators. 人们的耳朵被军号声和战声以及呆在这的演说家们的漂亮言辞塞得太满了。 来自飘（部分）

10 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

11 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。