82,891
edits
Shall: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
A verb that seems so safe - so forensic - fusty, old-fashioned, goodie-two-shoes - but yet tantalisingly vague. | A verb that seems so safe - so forensic - fusty, old-fashioned, goodie-two-shoes - but yet tantalisingly vague. | ||
It's vague in that | It's vague in that “shall” can be an airily floated aspiration of future — “I say,” said Jenkins, absent-mindedly knocking out his pipe on a passing child’s head, “I do believe I shall go to the theatre tonight!” — but just as easily can be a stentorian direction to an underling or contractual counterparty to carry out a binding duty: “You ''shall'' do the dishes, young lady, and you shall do them ''NOW''”. | ||
Lawyers like the latter, and spray it around like they're standing behind a Gatling gun. But here's the problem. Conjugation. | Lawyers like the latter, and spray it around like they're standing behind a Gatling gun. But here's the problem. Conjugation. | ||