shall

shall

English

Alternative forms

• shal (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English schal (infinitive schulen), from Old English sċeal (infinitive sċulan (“should, must”)), from Proto-West Germanic *skulan, from Proto-Germanic *skal (infinitive *skulaną), from Proto-Indo-European *skel- (“to owe, be under obligation”).

Cognate with Scots sall, sal (“shall”), West Frisian sil (infinitive sille (“shall”)), Dutch zal (infinitive zullen (“shall”)), Low German schall (infinitive schölen (“shall”)), German soll (infinitive sollen (“ought to”)), Danish skal (infinitive skulle (“shall”)), Icelandic skal (infinitive skulu (“shall”)), Afrikaans sal.

Pronunciation

• (stressed) IPA^(key): /ˈʃæl/

  • Audio (US; stressed)

    (file)

• (unstressed) IPA^(key): /ʃəl/, (pre-consonantal only) /ʃ(ə)/

  • Audio (US; unstressed)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æl (when stressed)

Verb

shall (third-person singular simple present shall, no present participle, simple past (archaic) should, no past participle) (modal, auxiliary verb, defective)

1. Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.

   I shall sing in the choir tomorrow.

   I hope that we shall win the game.

   • 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M. Hill Co., OCLC 297099816:

     "Then, having used up the powers of the Golden Cap, I shall give it to the King of the Monkeys, that he and his band may thereafter be free for evermore."

2. Used similarly to indicate determination or obligation in the second and third persons singular or plural.

   (determination): You shall go to the ball!

   (obligation): Citizens shall provide proof of identity.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Revelation 21:25, column 1:

     And the gates of it ſhall not bee ſhut at all by day: foꝛ there ſhall bee no night there.

3. Used in questions with the first person singular or plural to suggest a possible future action.

   Shall I help you with that?

   Shall we go out later?

   Let us examine that, shall we?

4. (obsolete) To owe.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Usage notes

• Shall is about one-fourth as common as will in North America compared to in the United Kingdom. Lack of exposure leads many in North America to consider it formal or even pompous or archaic, best reserved for court decisions and legal contracts. North Americans mainly use it in senses two and three.
• In law, shall is typically used to impose obligation, though the word can also convey discretionary power or recommendation. Due to its ambiguity, some jurisdictions refrain from using the term in law drafting and official writing.[1][2]
• In the past, will and shall were interchangeable and synonymous, used similarly as auxiliary verbs for the future tense but separate persons. The simple future tense traditionally used shall for the first person (”I” and “we”), and will for the second and third persons. This distinction existed largely in formal language and gradually disappeared in Early Modern English.

  I shall go.

  You will go.

  • An emphatic future tense, indicating volition of the speaker - determination, promise, obligation, or permission, depending on the context-, reverses the two words, using will for the first person and shall for the second and third person.

    I will go.

    You shall go.

  • Usage can be reversed in questions and in dependent clauses—especially with indirect discourse. For example: Shall you do it? anticipates the response I shall do it. Or: he says that he shall win or he expects that he shall win anticipate his saying I shall win, not I will win.

Derived terms

• shalbe
• shalt
• shan't

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: sa

Translations

indicating the simple future tense

Dutch: zullen (nl) Finnish: Use the present tense or use personal olla + present active participle I shall sing tomorrow - Laulan huomenna or Olen laulava huomenna (literary or formal) French: shall followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense I shall sing tomorrow - Je chanterai demain German: sollen (de) Italian: shall followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense I shall sing tomorrow - Canterò domani Malay: akan (ms) Norwegian: skal (no) Old English: sculan Old Saxon: skulan Polish: powinno się (pl) Portuguese: Use the future tense of the verb or present indicative of ir + the infinitive or the verb "haver de" in the present + infinitive Russian: Use the future perfective or use the future of быть (bytʹ) + imperfective infinitive I will go to the post office — Я пойду́ на по́чту I will be going to the post office — Я бу́ду идти́ на по́чту I will be going back and forth to the post office — Я буду ходи́ть на по́чту Slovak: Use the future perfective or use the future of byť + imperfective infinitive Spanish: shall followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense I shall sing tomorrow - Cantaré mañana Swedish: skola (sv) West Frisian: sille

indicating determination or obligation

Esperanto: -u (eo) Finnish: use genitive + impersonal olla + present active participle or use genitive + tulee/täytyy/pitää + first infinitive You shall go to the ball! - Sinun on mentävä juhlaan! or Sinun pitää mennä juhlaan! Citizens shall provide identity - Kansalaisten on esitettävä henkilöllisyytensä or Kansalaisten tulee esittää henkilöllisyytensä French: (indicating determination) shall followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense, which can be emphasised using "bien" or a similar adverbial construction; (indicating obligation) devoir, être obligé de You shall go to the ball! - Mais tu iras bien au bal! or Ah oui, tu iras au bal! Citizens shall provide identity - Les citoyens doivent fournir une pièce d'identité or Les citoyens sont obligés de fournir une pièce d'identité Gothic: 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌰𐌽 (skulan) Italian: (indicating determination) shall followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense, which can be emphasised using "sì che" or a similar adverbial construction; (indicating obligation) dovere, essere obbligato di You shall go to the ball! - Sì che andrai al ballo! Citizens shall provide identity - I cittadini devono fornire identificazione or I cittadini sono obbligati a fornire identificazione Korean: 야 되다 (ko) (-ya doeda), 야 하다 (ko) (-ya hada) Latin: debeo (la) Norwegian: skulle (no) Portuguese: dever (pt), precisar (pt) Russian: (predicative) до́лжен (ru) m (dólžen), должна́ (ru) f (dolžná), должно́ (ru) m (dolžnó), должны́ (ru) pl (dolžný) Swedish: böra (sv)

in questions to suggest a possible future action

Finnish: use conditional tense + -ko Shall we go out later? - Menisimmekö (yhdessä) ulos myöhemmin? French: shall followed by the infinitive is translated by si and the imperfect tense, or, informally, without si and with the present tense Shall we go out later? - Si nous sortions plus tard? or Sortons plus tard? Italian: shall followed by the infinitive is translated by the present tense Shall we go out later? - Usciamo più tardi? Japanese: ようか (ja) (-yōka), ましょうか (-mashōka) Korean: ᆯ까 (-lkka), ᆯ까요 (-lkkayo) Norwegian: skulle (no) Portuguese: Use the imperative tense of the verb or present indicative of ir + the infinitive Swedish: skola (sv)

See also

• ought
• should
• will
• Appendix:English modal verbs
• Appendix:English tag questions

References

• shall at OneLook Dictionary Search
• shall in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

1. Law Drafting Division, Department of Justice (2012) Drafting Legislation in Hong Kong — A Guide to Styles and Practices‎, page 90: “LDD no longer uses “shall” to impose an obligation or its negative forms to impose a prohibition. Moreover, it is not used for any other purpose for which it had been used.”
2. Plain Language Action and Information Network (2011) Federal Plain Language Guidelines‎, page 25: “Besides being outdated, “shall” is imprecise. It can indicate either an obligation or a prediction. Dropping “shall” is a major step in making your document more user-friendly.”

Anagrams

• Halls, halls

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Albanian

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish شال‎ (şal).

Noun

shall m (indefinite plural shalle, definite singular shalli, definite plural shallet)

1. shawl
2. scarf

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Yola

Verb

shall

1. Alternative form of shell
   • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1:

     To fho shall ich maake mee redress?

     To whom shall I make my redress?

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 102