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Post

shall

Posted by mesmark · July 1, 2009 · 10 replies

I was teaching an English teacher and she came to me with a few questions from the textbook. When there's a problem, it generally that some productive pattern has created a grammatically correct sentence but is semantically ill-formed.

here's one from last lesson that had me in stitches. (I took a little memo.) I'm not sure why it was so funny, but I think because I just didn't know what to do with it.

"I shall have studied English for 6 years by next March."

I couldn't stop laughing and I couldn't tell her why it sounds wrong to me.

10 Replies

susan53

Hi Mark,
Is this another US/UK difference? As long as I shall have has a weak form pronunciation - /ʌʃələv/- it sounds fine to me. In fact I'd probably say it. Of course there are other possibilities - I'll instead of I shall, and have been studying rather than have studied - but I can't see anything actually strange about it. What exactly was it that didn't seem possible?

How's Japan? Even hotter and stickier than here, I guess.

mesmark OP

Interesting. It may be a difference between American and British English (It very well could be that I'm just a little strange 😲 )

I don't think we use 'shall' in affirmative sentences in AE. Any other Americans on this?

susan53 wrote:How's Japan? Even hotter and stickier than here, I guess.

It's actually been pretty cool this summer, but I'm high in the mountains of Nagano (700m above sea level.) It's generally only unbearably hot and stick for about 6 weeks - mid July through Aug. So, the heat's on the way ...

mesmark OP

The high school book also had the example sentence:
'You shall have this book.'

I told my students that it would be OK in a ESP - Royalty class 🙂

Beatrix

mesmark wrote:Interesting. It may be a difference between American and British English (It very well could be that I'm just a little strange 😲 )
...

I couldn't stop laughing after reading this.

Thanks, Mark.

mesmark OP

Beatrix wrote:I couldn't stop laughing after reading this.

Thanks, Mark.

😃

STCrowley

I tell my students that 'shall' is outdated. Do we (English speakers in general) still use it? I've never read Jane Austin, but I feel like a Jane Austin character when I use it.

STCrowley

I have been informed by a 'British speaking' colleague that "On the island where we haven't murdered our English, we still properly use the word 'shall.'" So, I stand corrected.

I still say it makes me sound like something from my misconception of a Jane Austin novel!

Beatrix

isn't it jane Austen?

STCrowley

You mean she wasn't named for the city in Texas?

I guess that shows how far out of my depth I am.

My apologies to all.
-Toby

Beatrix

no need for an apology. 🙂 it's just that a lot of people make that mistake about her name, I've noticed it.

me too, I've made it recently, that's why I paid attention to your spelling