Will and Shall—What Is the Difference? | Usage Tips

Right off the bat, yes, there are differences between shall and will. Some resources have highly descriptive and prescriptive rules, some less so, and others not at all. Several agree with each other generally, but there are a few different perspectives that can make the matter a bit more complicated than it should be. I highly recommend reading the sources referenced for an expanded explanation.

The Not-So Basics of Shall and Will

Garner (2003, 720–1) gives a brief history on the usage of shall and will, but then indicates that will is largely preferred in the modern era, but with two exceptions.

The first exception is in interrogative sentences that request permission, consent, or agreement, such as “Shall we go to the market?” Chicago (2017, 268) supports this usage as do Fowler and Aaron (2007, 877).

The second exception is in legal documents where shall imposes a duty or permissions, as in “The tenant shall vacate the premises by....” However, Garner (721), much like Chicago (352), indicates that drafters of legal documents have been moving away from shall because it can be ambiguous, preferring words like must, is, will, may, and other related words.

Associated Press (2020, 273) seems to come up short with supposed rules, but it still has some advice. First off, it says that in statements of determination, shall should be used. Two examples are given: “We shall overcome” and “You and he shall stay.” Fowler and Aaron (877) also support this use. Associated Press also says that either shall or will is permissible in first-person constructions in situations unrelated to determination. In second- and third-person constructions where determination is not stressed, will is preferred.

The Best Advice, Perhaps

Concerning the shall-will matter, Sabin (2010, 398) gives the best advice; by “best,” I mean the clearest and best explained. The first thing to know is that Sabin tells us that will has taken over in all but the most formal circumstances. This means that will is almost always preferable over shall in ordinary settings and situations. When it comes to the most formal circumstances, Sabin breaks usage into three cases.

Case One: Simple Future Time

In formal circumstances concerning simple future time, writers should use shall with the first person (I, we) and use will with second- and third-person subjects (you, he, she, it, they).

Example I: I [or: we] shall be available after the meeting.

Example II: You will meet the rest of the team after the meeting with the CEO.

Example III: He [or: she, they] will have a great time at the party.

Case Two: Determination, Promise, Desire, Choice, or Threat

This is where things get a little confusing. Sabin provides two situations, one for ordinary circumstances and the other for formal ones. In ordinary situations, will is generally preferred, as previously mentioned. In formal circumstances, will is used for the first person (I, we) and shall for the second and third person (you, he, she, it, they)—Yes, the exact opposite to the rules regarding simple future time, and this is one reason why language learners hate English so much.

Example of Determination I: Despite the repercussions, we will tell the truth.

Example of Determination II: They shall not be permitted to attend the event.

Example of Promise: We will pay the balance by Tuesday.

Example of Threat I: I will tell everyone your dirty secrets if you keep this up.

Example of Threat II: You shall rue the day that you crossed me.

Example of Threat III: She shall do as she is told or she shall suffer the consequences.

Admittedly, in some of the formal uses, shall seems a touch stilted or forced on modern ears, but remember that historical usage is one thing, and Sabin does indicate that will is generally preferred.

Case Three: Willingness

In all situations in which willingness (or lack of willingness) is being expressed, then will is always used, regardless of first, second, or third person. This makes the willingness situation fairly simple.

Example of Willingness I: Yes, we will meet them at ten.

Example of Willingness II: No, she will not go to the party.

An American/British Issue?

Chicago (268 and 352), while admitting that the issue of shall is complicated and generally supports the above-mentioned information, indicates that shall is chiefly British English. However, this stance is questionable because evidence doesn’t support this claim. After mirroring much of the recommendations in this post, lexico.com, which is powered by Oxford University Press, says, “The interchangeable use of shall and will is now part of standard British and US English.”

In addition, while Oxford (2014) and The Economist (2018) do not have prescriptive rules on the matter, they clearly prefer will over shall. Oxford, for example, has just about a hundred and eighty instances of will but only three instances of shall in its publication, and those three instances are from literary examples. Similarly, The Economist has just over eighty instances of will and only three of shall; of those three, two are in historical examples. Because two of the most popular, authoritative, and respected style manuals in Britain seem to not follow along with the usage being an American/British issue, maybe one should challenge that it is.

Conclusion and Recommendation

It is hard to make a recommendation because there are so many contradictions in so-called authoritative sources. If I had to choose one source referenced in this post, I’d go for Sabin. The basics are listed above in the “The Best Advice, Perhaps” section. For the most part, following Sabin will align with the majority of the recommendations in other manuals. At the same time, I’d also follow Garner’s, Chicago’s, and Fowler and Aaron’s advice related to interrogative sentences, which doesn’t appear in Sabin. Shall we agree on that?

References

The Associated Press Stylebook 2020–2022. 55th ed. 2020. New York: Basic Books.

The Economist Style Guide. 12th ed. 2018. London: Profile Books Ltd.

The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. 2017. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Fowler, H. Ramsey and Jane E. Aaron. 2007. The Little, Brown Handbook. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Education.

Garner, Bryan A. 2003. Garner’s Modern American Usage. New York: Oxford University Press.

Oxford University Press. 2022. “SHALL | Meaning & Definition for UK English.” Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.lexico.com/definition/shall.

New Hart’s?Rules: The Oxford Style Guide. 2nd ed. 2014. New York: Oxford University Press.

Sabin, William. 2010.?The Gregg Reference Manual: A Manual of Style, Grammar, Usage, and Formatting—Tribute Edition. 11th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.