shall

shall
[[t]ʃəl, STRONG ʃæl[/t]]
♦♦
(Shall is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb.)
1) MODAL You use shall with `I' and `we' in questions in order to make offers or suggestions, or to ask for advice.

Shall I get the keys?...

I bought some lovely raisin buns at the bakery. Shall I bring you one with some tea?...

Shall I telephone her and ask her to come here?...

Well, shall we go?...

Let's have a nice little stroll, shall we?...

What shall I do?

2) MODAL You use shall, usually with `I' and `we', when you are referring to something that you intend to do, or when you are referring to something that you are sure will happen to you in the future.

We shall be landing in Paris in sixteen minutes, exactly on time...

I shall sail out on the twenty-second...

I shall know more next month, I hope...

I shall miss him terribly.

3) MODAL You use shall with `I' or `we' during a speech or piece of writing to say what you are going to discuss or explain later. [FORMAL]

In Chapter 3, I shall describe some of the documentation that I gathered...

We shall refer here to three significant trends that arose in the previous decade...

The building, as we shall see, is very different in its internal planning, with a great complex of halls and rooms.

4) MODAL You use shall to indicate that something must happen, usually because of a rule or law. You use shall not to indicate that something must not happen.

The president shall hold office for five years...

The Security Council shall decide what measures shall be taken to restore peace and security...

The bank shall be entitled to debit the amount of such liability and all costs incurred in connection with it to your Account...

You shall not make this speech...

If you want to pry into other people's business you shall not do it here, young man.

5) MODAL You use shall, usually with `you', when you are telling someone that they will be able to do or have something they want.

Very well, if you want to go, go you shall...

`I want to hear all the gossip, all the scandal.' - `You shall, dearie, you shall!'...

`What I would like, is a membership list and some information on how the Society is run.' - `Then that is what you shall have.'

6) MODAL (politeness) You use shall with verbs such as `look forward to' and `hope' to say politely that you are looking forward to something or hoping to do something. [FORMAL]

Well, we shall look forward to seeing him tomorrow...

I shall hope to see you in my office, young lady, and we'll review your portfolio.

7) MODAL You use shall when you are referring to the likely result or consequence of a particular action or situation.

When the big City law firms finally decide to put the lid on their entertainments, we shall know that times really are hard...

This is our last chance and we shall need to take it if we are to compete and survive.

8) shall I say → see say

English dictionary. 2008.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shall — Shall, v. i. & auxiliary. [imp. {Should}.] [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen, pres. zal, imp. zoude, zou, OHG. solan,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shall — [ ʃəl, strong ʃæl ] modal verb *** Shall is usually followed by an infinitive without to : I shall explain everything later. Sometimes it is used without a following infinitive: I have never visited Africa and probably never shall. Shall does not …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • shall — verb as required will, by compulsion will, by imperative will, mandatorily will, obligatorily will associated concepts: shall be lawful, shall be legal, shall become, shall give, shall have, shall not, shall perform, shall work Burton s Legal… …   Law dictionary

  • shall — W1S3 [ʃəl strong ʃæl] modal v negative short form shan t [: Old English; Origin: sceal] 1.) shall I/we...? spoken used to make a suggestion, or ask a question that you want the other person to decide about ▪ Shall I open the window? ▪ Shall we… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • shall — [shal] v.aux. pt.should [ME schal, pl. schullen < OE sceal, inf. sceolan, akin to Ger sollen < IE base * (s)kel , to be indebted > Lith skeliù, to owe] 1. used in the first person to indicate simple future time [I shall probably go… …   English World dictionary

  • shall — ► MODAL VERB (3rd sing. present shall) 1) (in the first person) expressing the future tense. 2) expressing a strong assertion or intention. 3) expressing an instruction or command. 4) used in questions indicating offers or suggestions. USAGE… …   English terms dictionary

  • shall — (v.) O.E. sceal I owe/he owes, will have to, ought to, must (infinitive sculan, pt. sceolde), a common Germanic preterite present verb, from P.Gmc. *skal , *skul (Cf. O.S. sculan, O.N., Swed. skola, M.Du. sullen, O.H.G. solan, Ger. sollen, Goth.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • shall */*/*/ — strong UK [ʃæl] / US weak UK [ʃəl] / US modal verb Summary: Shall is usually followed by an infinitive without to : I shall explain everything later. Sometimes it is used without a following infinitive: I have never visited America and probably… …   English dictionary

  • shall — /shal/; unstressed /sheuhl/, auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. shall, 2nd shall or (Archaic) shalt, 3rd shall, pres. pl. shall; past sing. 1st pers. should, 2nd …   Universalium

  • shall */*/*/ — weak [ʃəl] , strong [ʃæl] modal verb summary: ■ Shall is usually followed by an infinitive without ‘to : I shall explain everything later. Sometimes it is used without a following infinitive: I have never visited America and probably never shall …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

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