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We've already seen that in
American English, shall is often
used in asking what someone
wants you (or another person
person) to do and
in asking someone whether something is
a good
idea (that is, whether it is advisable).
Another use for shall is in
expressing determination or
a promise. This use of shall
is quite formal and
specialized.
Examples:
We shall
overcome our problems.
(We're determined to overcome
our problems, and we'll
do everything that we
can to overcome them.
We intend to overcome our
problems, no matter how
difficult this may be.)
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You shall
have everything that
you require.
(I'm / we're determined to
give you everything that you
require, and I /
we don't care how difficult it may be to
do this.
I / we promise that you will
have everything that you require,
even though
this may be very difficult to accomplish.
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He shall be the
next president.
(We're / I'm determined to
make him the next president
and we'll / I'll do
everything that I / we can to ensure that
this
happens.
I / we promise that he will
be the next president, no matter
how difficult
this may be.
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Special Notes:
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In the examples above, shall is
used in a very
special way: to show strong determination
or
a promise for something that is difficult to
do
or for situations in which the results are
considered
to be difficult to accomplish.
In American English, "I
will do something" and
"I shall do
something" have very different feelings.
"I
will" indicates that something is acceptable to
me
and I'm willing to do it. "I shall" indicates that
I'm strongly determined to do something that
others consider difficult to accomplish.
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| 2. |
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The negative of shall
is shall
not, which is
sometimes
contracted to shan't.
It expresses
determination or a promise for something
which
is negative:
You
shall not (shan't) be disappointed.
(I'm determined you will not
be disappointed,
no matter what happens. / I promise
that you
won't be disappointed, even though this
may be
difficult to arrange.
He
shall not (shan't) be allowed to enter
the building.
(I'm determined that he will not be allowed
to enter the
building under any circumstances. /
I promise
that he will not be allowed to enter
the building,
no matter how difficult this is
to accomplish.
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| 3. |
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Remember:
In American English, shall and shall
not (shan't)
are very formal and show very
strong feelings.
They are not simply forms that
"I" and "we" use
to show future
time.
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