Re: Will

On Sat, 17 Apr 100, John Cowan wrote:

> Muke Tever scripsit:
>
> > What's the difference between 'will' and 'shall'?
>
> Historically, "will" represented simple futurity, whereas "shall" had
> overtones of intention, command, suggestion, or what not, *except* in
> the 1st person where the pattern was reversed.
How ever did this queer pattern evolve?  I've never understood it.

> "I shall drown, for no one will save me" was the cry of the accident
> victim, whereas the suicide's declaration was "I will drown, for
> no one shall save me."
>
> Now this distinction has almost completely broken down, with "will"
> used in all situations in place of "shall", with one very important
> exception:  the idiom offering to do something for someone in the
> form of a question is always "Shall I" do such-and-such, never "Will I".
> (Except in Hiberno-English, where "shall" never took hold at all,
> and "Will I?" is normal.)
And, of course, "shall" is often used in all persons to emphsize intent or
constraint.  "The undersigned shall blah blah blah"

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