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====== Shall ====== ===== Introduction ===== {{:en:grammar:modals:danse.jpg?nolink&100|}}<color blue>Shall</color> we dance? ===== Definition and construction ===== <color blue>Shall</color> is a modal auxiliary verb which has different uses. It is usually only used with 'I' and 'we' in the interrogative form. <color blue>Shall</color> + 'I'/'we' + bare infinitive --> <color blue>Shall</color> I help? <note>Like other modal auxiliaries, <color blue>shall</color> has no infinitive and 'do' is not used to form negative or interrogative sentences. In the uses in this table, it is only used with 'I' and 'we'. </note> ===== Uses and examples ===== ^ Use ^ Examples ^ | To make or ask for suggestions | <color blue>Shall</color> we have a break now? \\ Where <color blue>shall</color> we go tonight? | | To ask for advice | <color blue>Shall</color> we park here or over there? \\ <color blue>Shall</color> I return his call? | | To make offers | <color blue>Shall</color> I help you with that? \\ <color blue>Shall</color> we take you to the airport? | | In question tags for suggestions with 'Let's' and with 'will' for spontaneous decisions | Let's go out for dinner, <color blue>shall</color> we? \\ I'll do that tomorrow, <color blue>shall</color> I? | | In legal documents |See below for more information and examples. | <color blue>Shall</color> can also be followed by the present continuous when making suggestions. For example: <color blue>Shall</color> I be preparing the vegetables while you're making the dessert? Unlike using <color blue>shall</color> as an alternative to 'will' when talking about the future, <color blue>shall</color> as a modal is very common in conversation: * What <color blue>shall</color> we have for dinner tonight? * <color blue>Shall</color> I apply for the job I told you about? What do you think? * <color blue>Shall</color> I do that for you? | {{ :en:grammar:modals:break.jpg?nolink&200 |}} | {{ :en:grammar:modals:friday.jpg?nolink&150 |}} | | Well, we need a break. Shall I be clearing up while you're making tea? | Let's get together again on Friday, shall we? | | {{ :en:grammar:modals:corn.jpg?nolink&200 |}} | {{ :en:grammar:modals:explain.png?nolink&200 |}} | |I'll prepare the corn, shall I? | Shall I explain that again or do you understand now? | | {{ :en:grammar:modals:go-next.jpg?nolink&200 |}} | {{ :en:grammar:modals:buy.jpg?nolink&150 |}} | | Where shall we go next? | Which one shall I buy? | ===== Legal terms ===== {{:en:grammar:modals:writing-1149962_640.jpg?nolink&200|}} The supplier <color blue>shall</color> dispatch all orders within three days of payment. In some legal documents, contracts, laws and formal rules, <color blue>shall</color> is also used with 'he', 'she', 'it' and 'they'. **Affirmative:** He/she/it/they <color blue>shall</color> **Negative: ** He/she/it/they <color blue>shall not</color> <note> - These documents are written in formal English so contractions are not used. - There is no necessity for an interrogative form in these documents. </note> ^ Use ^ Examples ^ | To express obligations |The employer <color blue>shall</color> pay compensation in the event of a successful claim.\\ These rules <color blue>shall</color> apply to all participants.\\ The terms of this lease <color blue>shall</color> be from 2016 until 2022.| |To express negative obligations|The company <color blue>shall not</color> be liable for any loss or damage.\\ The amount paid <color blue>shall not</color> exceed the insured sum set.| |To express prohibition|Members of the forum <color blue>shall not</color> purchase nor sell any music that is known to be stolen from its legal owner.\\ No candidate <color blue>shall</color> be allowed to enter the room more than thirty minutes after the start of the exam.| |To state requirements|A score of 60% <color blue>shall</color> be deemed a pass.\\ The Contractor's sub-contractors <color blue>shall not</color> be considered as being employees or agents.| Note that in both the UK and USA, there is some disagreement about this use of <color blue>shall</color>. For example: - Some people believe it should be avoided and that 'will' should always be used. Others use 'will' in order to express a client's obligations and <color blue>shall</color> for the other party's obligations with no difference in meaning. - Others believe that shall can also be used to mean 'may' or 'can', as in the United States Constitution, or to state a fact: No Person <color blue>shall</color> be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.