¦ modal verb (3rd singular 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.

OE sceal, of Gmc origin, from a base meaning 'owe'.

There are traditional rules as to when to use shall and will. These state that when forming the future tense, shall should be used with I and we (I shall be late), while will should be used with you, he, she, it, and they (he will not be there). However, when expressing determination or a command this rule is reversed: will is used with I and we (I will not tolerate this), and shall is used with you, he, she, it, and they (you shall go to school). In practice, however, these rules are not followed so strictly and the contracted forms (I'll, she'll, etc.) are frequently used instead, especially in spoken and informal contexts.

1.

You use shall with 'I' and 'we' in questions in order to make offers or suggestions, or to ask for advice.

2.

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.

3.

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)

4.

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.

5.

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

6.

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)

MODAL [politeness]

7.

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

(·vi & ·v·aux) To be obliged; must.

II. Shall (·vi & ·v·aux) To owe; to be under obligation for.

III. Shall (·vi & ·v·aux) As an auxiliary, shall indicates a duty or necessity whose obligation is derived from the person speaking; as, you shall go; he shall go; that is, I order or promise your going. It thus ordinarily expresses, in the second and third persons, a command, a threat, or a promise. If the auxillary be emphasized, the command is made more ·imv, the promise or that more positive and sure. It is also employed in the language of prophecy; as, "the day shall come when ...," since a promise or threat and an authoritative prophecy nearly coincide in significance. In shall with the first person, the necessity of the action is sometimes implied as residing elsewhere than in the speaker; as, I shall suffer; we shall see; and there is always a less distinct and positive assertion of his volition than is indicated by will. "I shall go" implies nearly a simple futurity; more exactly, a foretelling or an expectation of my going, in which, naturally enough, a certain degree of plan or intention may be included; emphasize the shall, and the event is described as certain to occur, and the expression approximates in meaning to our emphatic "I will go." In a question, the relation of speaker and source of obligation is of course transferred to the person addressed; as, "Shall you go?" (answer, "I shall go"); "Shall he go?" ·i.e., "Do you require or promise his going?" (answer, "He shall go".) The same relation is transferred to either second or third person in such phrases as "You say, or think, you shall go;" "He says, or thinks, he shall go." After a conditional conjunction (as if, whether) shall is used in all persons to express futurity simply; as, if I, you, or he shall say they are right. Should is everywhere used in the same connection and the same senses as shall, as its imperfect. It also expresses duty or moral obligation; as, he should do it whether he will or not. In the early English, and hence in our English Bible, shall is the auxiliary mainly used, in all the persons, to express simple futurity. (Cf. Will, ·vt) Shall may be used elliptically; thus, with an adverb or other word expressive of motion go may be omitted.

¦ contraction shall; will.

Shalt is an old-fashioned form of shall
.

archaic second person singular of shall.