When I studied English, I was taught that shall is used to express the future tense for the first person (singular, or plural), and will is used for the same purpose in the other cases.
When I look for shall on the NOAD, I read the following sentence, in a note about the usage of shall:
In practice, however, shall and will are today used more or less interchangeably in statements (although not in questions).
Does that mean shall and will are used with almost the same meaning?
Does I shall return have the same meaning of I will return?
Answer
The NOAD is right. As ‘The Cambridge Guide to English Usage’ comments:
*Will is now the standard choice for expressing future plans and expectations, everywhere in the world. Shall is stylistically marked with volitional meaning in legal and regulatory statements, and expresses politeness in first person questions.
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