Do you ever use the term "shall"? For example.. "Shall we dance?" or "I shall eat all the pizza, and share none with Blurtit members!"

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Ray Dart Profile
Ray Dart answered

I use "shall" all the time it is appropriate. It sounds nicely "English" and was a much more common first-person alternative to "will" some years ago.

(Heck, that sounded pompous, even for me!)

Tom  Jackson Profile
Tom Jackson answered

Yes, I do---and for the purpose of taking advantage of the original distinction that each offered.

But given the general interchangeability of both in today's common usage, it remains only as an internal consistency for me.

When I studied grammar back in the Middle Ages, "shall" and "will" indicated either simple futurity or resolved intention depending on which was used when referring to future actions by the first, second, or third "persons."

A brief search on the internet will confirm that the words have come to be used interchangeably, with a general loss of the precision of thought that they offered.

Personally, I don't see that as a good thing.  It's like taking a yardstick and a micrometer and combining them into one tool---really not any "added value" there.

Now I generally have to reword my sentences and avoid the use of both words in order to convey my exact meaning.

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