Word for the wise ©
This week, our Word for the wise © is brought to you by the letter S. After reviewing the merits of "scab" and "senile", we have opted for something slightly dissimilar.
shall is used to express the simple future, but that's the simplest thing one can say about the word. Grammarians have been attempting to define the differences between shall and will since the 17th century, with limited success. The revered Fowler brothers devoted 20 pages to the matter in The King's English and their conclusion seems to be that you understand the distinction instinctively or you don't. If you don't, you never will. If you do, you don't need to be told.The rule most often stated by English teachers is that to express the future you should use shall in the first person and will in the second and third persons, and to express determination you should do the reverse. OK? So, have all who sing "We Shall Overcome" got it wrong? And did General MacArthur err when he said, "I shall return"? Was the great stylist who vowed, "We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender," mistaken? If Churchill couldn't get it right, what hope is there for the rest of us?
The debate is pointless as most people don't see any difference between shall and will and the distinction is irrelevant, especially if you speak Irish, Scottish or American English.
Next week, we're at "T". Candidates range from "tabloid" to "trivial".
Comments
Great word choice. In the US, virtually no one uses "shall", except for effect. Certainly not in daily life.
When it is used, it's used in the sense MacArthur meant it: to call attention to a vow. Sometimes the vow is comical, but still...
I'm wondering whether the blurring of shall and will in the instances you've cited is deliberate. That is to say, the speakers are expressing their determination to do something, but using "shall" to indicate that the thing they will do is inevitable, inescapable, already stamped into the future, just waiting for time to catch up.
I wrote a story recently in which a character, after a particularly trying day, expresses his intention to get drunk. I looked it up just now. I had him use "shall". Wonder if I should change that.
Posted by: Angie Schultz | October 29, 2005 4:10 PM
Eamonn,
Do you intend to have a pop-up ad when visitors first access your homepage? Last week I used to get one of those annoying scripts that try to entice you to download something that will make your PC run better. This week, it's an ad for RedNova Health that takes over the screen. Both are most annoying.
Posted by: Joel | October 29, 2005 8:21 PM