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The Simple Future - Will

The document discusses the difference between shall and will. Shall is used with first person singular and plural while will is used with all other persons. Both shall and will are used to refer to the simple future. Shall is not commonly used in modern American English. The document also discusses the forms, uses and examples of the simple future tense.

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25 views

The Simple Future - Will

The document discusses the difference between shall and will. Shall is used with first person singular and plural while will is used with all other persons. Both shall and will are used to refer to the simple future. Shall is not commonly used in modern American English. The document also discusses the forms, uses and examples of the simple future tense.

Uploaded by

Cindy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Shall and Will

What is the difference between shall and will?


'Shall' and ' will' have the same meaning and are used to refer to the simple future. Note
that 'shall' is not used often in modern English especially in American English.

Here is how 'shall' and 'will'are used:

1. will is used with all persons

I, you, he, she, it, we, will go there


they

2. shall is used with the first person singular and plural

I, shall go
we

3. The short form of will and shall is 'll

will or call you


I, you, he, she, it, we, they
'll

I, we shall or 'll call you

4. In the negative, the short forms of 'will not' and 'shall not'
are won't and shan't respectively

I, you, he, she, it, we, won't give up


they

I, we shan't give up

Uses of shall
It should be noted that shall is often used to make suggestions, offers or ask for advice. It
is used in questions as follows:

 Shall we stay or go out?


 Shall we dance?
 Shall I get his phone number if I meet him?
 What shall I do to get rid of my acne?

As said above shall is used with first person singular and plural (I and we.) But there is a
very special use of shall with other persons to make a promise, command or threat as
noted below:

 You shall not get in! (Command)


 You shall pay for it. (Threat)
 You shall get your money back soon. (Promise)

In American English shall is mainly used in formal or legal documents:

 You shall abide by the law.


 There shall be no trespassing on this property.
 Students shall not enter this room.

The Simple Future

The simple future tense:


This page will present the simple future tense:

 its form
 and its use.

The forms of the simple future:


The simple future is formed as follows:

will / 'll + verb

will = 'll

The affirmative form of the simple future:


I, you, he, she, it, we, they will / ''ll go.

Examples:

 I think I'll buy a new computer.


 I will open the door. Someone is ringing the bell.

The interrogative form of the simple future:


Wil
I, you, he, she, it, we, they go?
l

Examples:
 Will you buy a computer?
 Will you go to the party?

The negative form of the simple future:


will not
I, you, he, she, it, we, they go.
won't

will not = won't

Examples:

 I will not stay at home if I finish the homework.


 I won't visit Big Ben if I go to London.

The use of the simple future:

 We use the simple future for instant decisions.


Example: "I've left the door open; I'll close it."

 We use the simple future , when we predict a future situation:


Example: "She'll pass the exam. She's hardworking"

 We use the simple future with: "I (don't) think...", "I expect...", "I'm sure...", "I wonder...", "probably".
Example: "It will probably rain tonight" , "I wonder what will happen?

 We use the simple future in conditional sentences type one. (More on conditional sentences here):
Example: "If I have enough time, I'll watch the film."

Things to remember:
1. We don't use the simple future to say what somebody has already decided or arranged
to do in the future. We use instead either the present continuous or "going to + verb"
(Future plan) :

 Ann is traveling to New York next week. (NOT, "Ann will travel ")
 Are you going to watch television? (NOT "will you watch").

2. You can use shall instead of will for I and we:

 I shall play football.(Or, I will play ...)


 We shall play football. (Or, we will play ...)

3. 'll is the short form of will. You can say either:


 I will go, or
 I 'll go.

4. Won't is the short form of will not. You can say either:

 I will not go, or


 I won't go.

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