Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Shall and Will

Lose yourself in the discussion for a bit. First person, second person; British/American; prescriptive vs common usage.

Just don't ask lawyers and bureaucrats.  They really like the idea of "shall" as a command and imperative when they are writing up contracts. Only they think so.

2 comments:

  1. The drowning example they give is how I was raised. “Shall” implies duty rather than wish; “will” implies an act of that will.

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  2. Strunk & White used that example, but didn't entirely endorse it the distinction.

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