Shall pass

[Rachel Adams]

When comforting a friend would it be wrong to say "this too shall pass" instead of "this time shall pass"?

"You will worry, feel depressed and probably say something you will regret later and so what? This too shall pass."

Should I use "shall" or "will"?

 

[5jj]

Use will.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Use will.

Is it because "shall" is never used in such sense?


In my old Georgian-English textbook I read that "shall" is used with the second person singular to express warning, order, or promise. Would it be an old-fashioned use in modern English? I thought, perhaps "this shall pass" expresses a promise but it's not used to address the second person singular in my sentence.

 

[Tdol]

"You will worry, feel depressed and probably say something you will regret later and so what? This too shall pass."

This too works. I agree with 5jj that will works better because it comes after two occurrences of will. Shall is not wrong, but sounds a bit old-fashioned.

 

[Skrej]

The sentiment being expressed with "This will pass" is already trite enough without adding the antiquated 'shall', which pushes it into the boundaries of a cliché.

Granted, there isn't always something original and meaningful you can say, but at least try to avoid sounding like a Hallmark card.

 

[Tdol]

sHallmark?