Webster dictionary was developed by Noah Webster in the beginning of 19th century. On this website, you can find definition for shall from the 1913 edition of Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Define shall using one of the most comprehensive free online dictionaries on the web.
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Part of Speech: verb intransitive, auxiliary
Results: 3
Part of Speech: noun
1.
As an auxiliary, shall indicates a
duty or necessity whose obligation is derived from the person speaking;
as,
you shall
go;
he shall
go;
that is, I
order or promise
your going.
It thus ordinarily expresses,
in the second and third persons, a command, a
threat,
or a promise.
If the auxillary
be emphasized,
the command
is made more imperative,
the promise
or that more positive and sure.
It is also employed in the language of prophecy;
as, "
the day shall come
when... , "
since a promise
or threat and an authoritative prophecy
nearly coincide
in significance.
In shall
with the first person,
the necessity of the action is sometimes implied as residing elsewhere than in the speaker;
as, I shall
suffer;
we shall
see;
and there is always a
less distinct and positive assertion of his volition than is indicated by will. " I shall
go" implies
nearly a
simple futurity;
more exactly, a
foretelling or an expectation of my going,
in which,
naturally enough, a
certain degree of plan or intention may be included;
emphasize the shall,
and the event is described as certain to occur,
and the expression approximates
in meaning to our emphatic " I
will go."
In a
question,
the relation of speaker
and source
of obligation is of course transferred to the person addressed;
as, " Shall
you go?" (
answer, " I shall
go"); " Shall
he go?" i. e., "
Do you require or promise
his going?" (
answer, "
He shall
go".)
The same relation is transferred to either second or third person in such phrases
as "
You say,
or think,
you shall
go;" "
He says,
or thinks,
he shall
go."
After a conditional conjunction (
as if,
whether) shall
is used in all persons
to express futurity simply;
as,
if I,
you,
or he shall
say they are right.
Should is everywhere used in the same connection
and the same senses
as shall,
as its imperfect.
It also expresses
duty or moral obligation;
as,
he should do it whether he will or not.
In the early English,
and hence in our English Bible, shall
is the auxiliary mainly used,
in all the persons,
to express simple futurity. ( Cf.
Will, v. t.) Shall
may be used elliptically;
thus,
with an adverb or other word expressive of motion go may be omitted.
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Examples of usage:
-
You shall see, dear." - "Star-Dust A Story of an American Girl", Fannie Hurst.
-
So it shall be done! - "Stories from Pentamerone", Giambattista Basile.
-
Where shall I go then? - "The Macdermots of Ballycloran", Anthony Trollope.