When Should I Use 'Will' and 'Shall'?


English Lesson Notes for Junior Secondary

When Should I Use 'Will' and 'Shall'?

When Should I Use "Will" and "Shall"?
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'Will' and 'Shall' are words both native speakers and learners of English use interchangeably. Both words are future tenses as they are used to indicate an action that will be implemented in the future.

The only difference between these words is their usage. According to the rules of grammar, 'will' should only used with the second and third person pronouns whereas 'shall' should be only be used with the first person pronoun.

Singular Forms
First Person Pronoun = I
Second Person Pronoun = You
Third Person Pronoun = It/She/He

Plural Forms
First Person Pronoun = We
Second Person pronoun = You
Third Person pronoun = They


Having stated that, let's see some sentence examples:

Don't Say: I will be there/We will be there.
Say: I shall be there/We shall be there.

Don't say: You shall be there.
Say: You will be there.

Don't Say: She/He/It/They shall come with us.
Say: She/He/It/They will come with us.

In sum, 'will' is used with the second and third person pronouns (you, it, she, he, they) whereas 'shall' is used with the first person pronouns (I, they).
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