[Grammar] will

[Lily of the valley]

I have got two questions.
1. Does 'will' in this sentence "I will drop you a message" mean that it might or might not be fulfilled?
2. What is the difference between saying "I shall drop you a message" and "I will drop you a message"? What does 'I shall drop you a message' imply?

 

[emsr2d2]

For me, they mean the same. "Shall" is heard less often.

 

[Gillnetter]

I have got two questions.
1. Does 'will' in this sentence "I will drop you a message" mean that it might or might not be fulfilled? No.
2. What is the difference between saying "I shall drop you a message" and "I will drop you a message"? What does 'I shall drop you a message' imply?

"shall" is more formal than "will". Beyond that, there is little difference. I'm not sure how one "drops" a message but it sounds roughly like, "I will send you a message". If you say "I will", or "I shall", it is a promise. If you say "I may", or "I might", the event may or may not occur.

 

[Lily of the valley]

That is just what I am interested in: that "little difference"

 

[jdaenglish]

The person uses "will" in this situation because the decision to do it was made during speaking. "Shall" is used in the UK, but it is more commonly used as follows:

• Shall we go out tonight?
• Shall we get tea started?

It is a suggestion that is used when we expect a "yes" in return.

 

[5jj]

"shall" is more formal than "will".

I don't agree. When it comes to expressing futurity, some of my generation (ancient) of BrE speakers still insist on the shall/will difference. For such people, observation of the difference is 'more correct', but I don't think that even they would say that it's more formal.

I don't know why I say 'they'. I am one of them in my non-teaching life.

 

[Lily of the valley]

This is just what I was taught,that is why I don't understand why the speaker used 'shall' instead of 'will'.

 

[MikeNewYork]

"shall" is more formal than "will". Beyond that, there is little difference. I'm not sure how one "drops" a message but it sounds roughly like, "I will send you a message". If you say "I will", or "I shall", it is a promise. If you say "I may", or "I might", the event may or may not occur.

I agree with you that, in AmE, "shall" is usually considered more formal than "will". And it is used far less often.

 

[MikeNewYork]

This is just what I was taught,that is why I don't understand why the speaker used 'shall' instead of 'will'.

The usage difference between shall and will is largely based on tradition with British English. The distinction was not as clearly delineated in AmE and was seldom observed. At one time there was a difference between using "shall" with the first person (simple futurity) and using "shall" with the second and third persons (promise, command, or threat). With that "rule" in mind, "will" is used for simple futurity in the second and third person, and for desire or intention in the first person. From what I have learned from my British colleagues, including the British posters here, the distinctions are fading. Also the use of modals in the English language is, and always has been, very complicated.

You can read more about this here: Shall and will - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Lily of the valley]

That is all clear but what about 'shall' when it is used in the first person nowadays?Is it simple futurity?

 

[emsr2d2]

I tend to use "shall" in the interrogative (with first person singular and first person plural) but "will" for interrogatives with the rest, and also in a statement.

Shall I go and get some milk?
Shall we go to the cinema this weekend?

Will your brother be there tonight?
Will they have anything left to eat by then?

Bear in mind that the tone of those questions is different, of course. "Shall we go to the cinema?" equates do "What do you think of this idea?" "Will your brother be there tonight?" asks for a prediction of fact or for a supposition.

I will see you at 3 o'clock. ("I shall see you at 3 o'clock" is perfectly acceptable but in the UK, I really don't think you would hear it from anyone under about 50 years of age.)
They will go and find truffles in the morning.

Note that my Irish friend would have said "Will I go and get some milk?", not "Shall I ...".
Note also that I would say "Oh, so I'll go and get the milk then, shall I?" where "I'll" is a contraction of "I will", giving a mix of "will" and "shall" in one sentence!

 

[5jj]

Note also that I would say "Oh, so I'll go and get the milk then, shall I?" where "I'll" is a contraction of "I will", giving a mix of "will" and "shall" in one sentence!

I've seen that interesting idea before. How do you know that I'll is not being used as a contraction of I shall?

 

[emsr2d2]

I've seen that interesting idea before. How do you know that I'll is not being used as a contraction of I shall?

That is a good point and one which occurred to me after I hit "Submit". All I can say is that I was never taught that "I'll" could be a contraction of anything but "I will". I have a vague recollection of one of my English teachers saying that it was because an apostrophe is rarely used to replace more than two letters. If it were a contraction of "I shall", the apostrophe would replace "sha", rather than just "wi" for "I will". I can honestly say I have never spent any time trying to work out if that apostrophe "rule" is even close to being true! ;-)

 

[bhaisahab]

That is all clear but what about 'shall' when it is used in the first person nowadays?Is it simple futurity?

Yes, as already indicated by emsr2d2 in post #2.