Timeline for "Will" = "want" and "shall" = "must"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
15 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2016 at 11:24 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackEnglishLL/status/761885533295538176 | ||
| Aug 6, 2016 at 10:38 | answer | added | Petr Skocik | timeline score: 1 | |
| Aug 6, 2016 at 2:59 | vote | accept | Tommaso Borri | ||
| Aug 6, 2016 at 1:46 | answer | added | user24986 | timeline score: 1 | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 23:29 | answer | added | StoneyB on hiatus | timeline score: 6 | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 22:26 | answer | added | laugh salutes Monica C | timeline score: 3 | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 22:23 | answer | added | P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica | timeline score: 2 | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 22:22 | comment | added | P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica | @Bob'sbosomfriend Now you're in ELU territory! See this link or ask the above question there. | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 22:22 | comment | added | Catija | That's something better suited to our sister site English Language & Usage. We're focused here on helping users learn English. They focus on the historical use of words and how they were used. Knowing how "shall" and "will" were used in the past isn't of much use to learners now a days since they aren't used that way. | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 22:17 | comment | added | Tommaso Borri | Thank you, everybody. P. E. Dant, though I'm not a native speaker, I'm under the impression that your two statements, and especially the first (" 'Shall' has largely disappeared in modern usage "), are too absolute. But, at any rate, let us change the question: when "shall" = "must" and "will" = "want" were in common use, how did people manage to distinguish them from the auxiliaries of the future? | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 22:04 | comment | added | P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica | @Bobsbosomfriend "Shall" has largely disappeared in modern usage, and "will" has largely lost its relationship to "want." Our language is impoverished by this, I think, but like it or not, today you shall use "must" and "want" if you will make your meaning clear. :) | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 21:45 | history | edited | Tommaso Borri | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Aug 5, 2016 at 21:36 | history | edited | Catija | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
deleted 24 characters in body
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| Aug 5, 2016 at 21:35 | comment | added | Catija | As a note, "shall" is very rare in modern English statements. It's more common in questions as a form of invitation "Shall we go to the dance on Friday?" | |
| Aug 5, 2016 at 21:31 | history | asked | Tommaso Borri | CC BY-SA 3.0 |