In his Independence Day broadcast on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu highlighted the various steps his administration is taking to rebuild the nation. While the address is generating different reactions, it provides for us an opportunity to discuss (not discuss about) an intriguing topic in English grammar: the difference between ‘will’ and ‘shall’.
The reason is that (not the reason why is because!), in a way that affirms the usefulness of the words, they appeared several times in the text. Here are some clauses from the broadcast:
The triumphs that Nigeria has achieved SHALL define us.
Making the economy more robust by lowering transport costs WILL be key.
My special investigator WILL soon present his findings on past lapses and how to prevent similar reoccurrences.
Henceforth, monetary policy SHALL be for the benefit of all.
Note that the President did not say ‘Henceforth from now’! Besides, I hope you have begun to see how interesting the relationship between ‘will’ and ‘shall’ can be based on how they prominently feature in the clauses above. Yet, the most interesting and instructive usage of modal verbs comes at the end of the broadcast:
I promise (that) I SHALL remain committed and serve faithfully. I also invite all to join this enterprise to remake our beloved nation into its better self. We CAN do it. We MUST do it. We SHALL do it.!
The last three sentences particularly deserve attention: We must do it. We can do it. We shall do it. Here, ‘will’ is, dramatically nowhere to be found. If the writers had wanted to employ it, which of the modal verbs would it have replaced in the three expressions: must, can or shall?
You are likely to say ‘shall’ and that will be right. This indicates that ‘will’ and ‘shall’ are interchangeable – although not always. Also, I will soon mention why ‘shall’ may be preferable in the Tinubu’s statement.
Modal verbs
‘Will’ and ‘shall’ are modal verbs in the family of may, must, should and could. Normally, they are used to form the future tense. They are also auxiliary verbs as they help other main verbs to complete the sense they convey. Modern English, however, favours ‘will’ more to the extent that some have observed that ‘shall’ is endangered. Generally, will and shall state the future:
I shall do the work tomorrow.
I will do the work tomorrow.
We shall persevere.
We will persevere.
Uses of will and shall
‘Will’ is used to describe the future, make a prediction, a request and express a promise:
They will return the file tomorrow. (Future)
The new party will win the election. (Prediction)
Will you get me a cup of water? (Request)
I will give you some money. (Promise)
Shall can be used to make an offer, a suggestion, express formal obligations and make a promise:
Shall I collect the photographs for you? (An offer)
Shall we go for lunch now? (A suggestion)
Returning students shall pay N50,000 caution fee. (A formal position)
We shall do everything possible to pay the debt. (A promise)
Again, you can see that the modal verbs will be interchangeable in some of the situations. For instance, instead of saying ‘I will give you some money’, you can say ‘I shall give you some money’. Also, not much will be lost in the message if one says ‘We will do everything possible to pay the debt’ instead of ‘We shall do everything possible to pay the debt’. Or is the promise sharper with ‘shall’?
I/We shall
‘Shall’ is used with the first person pronouns I and we; and ‘will’ with others such as he, she, it and you. The rule may no more be as strict and popular as it used to be, but there is nothing bad in observing it:
I shall soon be there.
We shall soon be there.
He will soon be there.
She will soon be there.
More formal shall
Where the two modal verbs are interchangeable, ‘shall’ may be more formal and preferred. This is what is likely to have informed the ‘shall’ in the Tinubu’s ‘We must do it. We can do it. We shall do it!’ Consider these too:
We shall proceed to the building to cut the tape.
Government shall pay 70 per cent of the fee.
Asking questions
As endangered as ‘shall’ is, it is still useful in asking questions:
What shall we tell them when they arrive?
Shall I wait till tomorrow before contacting them?
‘Will’ too can work in this capacity, but it may not convey the same thing:
Shall I arrive tomorrow? (Is tomorrow okay or appropriate for me to arrive?)
Will I arrive tomorrow? (I want to know whether or not I will arrive tomorrow.)
Note, however, that there are occasions you use ‘shall’ in the form of a question but that it is actually not a question but a suggestion:
Shall we go?
Shall the meeting start now?
Shall we then bluntly say he has not done well?
