Major difference between Will and Shall

Posted by Simpli English on October 9th, 2019

Will and Shall are both modal helping verbs. On the surface they appear to be the same but there are used in different sentences to convey different meanings.

Modal verbs are a kind of helping verbs. They are called modal verbs because they modify the meaning of the sentence they are used in. Thus modal is a short form of modifying. Modal verbs are very useful if used appropriately and thus they can make the sentence more meaningful and effective.

As far as Shall is concerned it is very rarely used nowadays in common English. On the other hand, will is very commonly used and most English speakers prefer to use will instead of shall. Shall has an element of respect in it.

 As the English language is evolving more and more people are using Will and Shall is slowly moving out of the picture. Best way to understand the difference between will and shall is by practicing speaking English as much as possible because as much as you will practice the more you will grasp the difference and that can be done only by English Speaking Course on Phone from anywhere and anytime.

Let’s check out the major difference between will and shall:

Let’s see how and for what we use Will: -

• INTENTION

In the statement ‘I will win no matter what’, here will is used as an intention. 

Will is strong intention. It means you are going to put all your attention on the task at hand.

• POSSIBILITY

‘He will come at 9 pm’ Here the Will is used for future possibility. 

Here the possibility is very probable and almost sure.

• INTERROGATION

‘Will you tell me the secret or not?’, here will is used as a questioning.

Let’s see how and for what is Shall use: -

• INTENTION

‘I SHALL COME FIRST’, here Shall is used for intention.

Here the intention is quite sure but not as sure as Will. The intention of doing the act is not as sure as Will.

• LESS POSSIBILITY

‘HE SHALL BE LATE’, here shall is used as a possibility.

Again the possibility is less than that with the usage of Will.

• PERMISSION WITH RESPECT

‘SHALL I COME IN?’, Here shall is used for permission with respect.

The element of respect is very prominent here.

 Thus the major difference between will and shall is that will be used for definite possibility while shall is used for less possibility.

 And also that Will be used as interrogation with authority and Shall is used for permission with respect.

 In modern day English especially in Indian and American English Will is being more and more often and shall is disappearing from the scene.

 Most modern English speakers stay away from shall especially as a permission and are switching to will, can and could.

 Hope you got the clear idea now about the difference between will and shall.