SHALL

Good morning and welcome back to the Daily Vitamin.

Today we are going to answer a request from one of our readers, Núria. She wrote asking us to review the meaning and use of the modal verb SHALL.

SHALL
Meaning 1: Shall is the equivalent of will but it is used in standard British English of a more formal register. The negative form is shall not or shan't.

Example 1: Come on, children! We shall be late if you don't hurry up!

Example 2: I shan't listen to another word you say unless you speak to me with a little more respect!

Meaning 2: Shall is used in the questions Shall I...? and Shall we...? (the 1st person singular and plural forms) to ask somebody's opinion, especially in offers and suggestions.

Example 3: Shall we watch the news or would you prefer to turn off the television?

Example 4: Shall I carry those bags up to your flat for you? They look very heavy. 

⇒ I encourage you to get some writing practice in English by writing a sentence (or two) with the modal verb SHALL. You can post your sentences to one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky) and we will give you feedback about your sentences as soon as possible.

Have a good day!