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What is Grammar?
English Grammar Terms
The 8 English Parts of
Speech
These are the words that you use to make a sentence.
There are only
8 types of word - and the most
important is the Verb!
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Verbs |
be, have, do, work |
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Nouns |
man, town, music |
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Adjectives |
a, the, 69, big |
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Adverbs |
loudly, well, often |
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Pronouns |
you, ours, some |
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Prepositions |
at, in, on, from |
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Conjunctions |
and, but, though |
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Interjections |
ah, dear, er, um |
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Hot Links
Verbs
Passive voice
Modal verbs
Conditionals
Questions
Irregular
verbs
Going to
Gerunds
Phrasal Verbs
Tenses
Nouns
(Un) Countable nouns
Adjectives
Articles
Pronouns
Preposition List
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| Grammar Quizzes
Parts of Speech Quiz
Verb Classification Quiz
Main Verb Forms Quiz
Active or Passive Quiz
Subjunctive Quiz
Future Time Quiz
Continuous Tense Verb
Quiz
Used to do or Be used to
Quiz
Have to,
Must, Must not Quiz
Can, Could, Be able
to Quiz
Questions Quiz
Tag Questions
Quiz
Infinitive or
-ing Quiz
Gerunds Quiz
Phrasal Verbs
Quiz
Conditionals Quiz
For or Since Quiz
Present Simple
Present Continuous
Present Perfect
Simple
Present Perfect
Continuous
Past Simple
Questions
Comparative
Adjectives
Superlative
Adjectives
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Shall and Will
People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between
shall and will, or even that today nobody uses shall
(except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true. The
difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact
that we usually contract them in speaking with 'll. But the difference
does exist.
The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb
will:
| 1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement
of fact) |
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Person |
Verb |
Example |
Contraction |
| Singular |
I |
shall |
I shall be in London tomorrow. |
I'll |
| you |
will |
You will see a large building on the left. |
You'll |
| he, she, it |
will |
He will be wearing blue. |
He'll |
| Plural |
we |
shall |
We shall not be there when you arrive. |
We shan't |
| you |
will |
You will find his office on the 7th floor. |
You'll |
| they |
will |
They will arrive late. |
They'll |
| 2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion,
promise or command) |
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Person |
Verb |
Example |
Contraction |
| Singular |
I |
will |
I will do everything possible to help. |
I'll |
| you |
shall |
You shall be sorry for this. |
You'll |
| he, she, it |
shall |
It shall be done. |
It'll |
| Plural |
we |
will |
We will not interfere. |
We won't |
| you |
shall |
You shall do as you're told. |
You'll |
| they |
shall |
They shall give one month's notice. |
They'll |
It is true that this difference is not universally recognized.
However, let those who make assertions such as "Americans never use 'shall'"
peruse a good American English dictionary, or many American legal documents,
which often contain phrases such as:
- Each party shall give one month's notice in writing in
the event of termination.
Note that exactly the same rule applies in the case of should and
would. It is perfectly normal, and somewhat more elegant, to write, for
example:
- I should be grateful if you would kindly send me
your latest catalogue.
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