Collins English-English Dictionary

shall [ʃæl]

1. 1. vb [takes an infinitive without to or an implied infinitive] [esp with I or we as subject] used as an auxiliary to make the future tense - Compare will

   we shall see you tomorrow

2. 2. vb [with you, he, she, it, they, or a noun as subject] used as an auxiliary to indicate determination on the part of the speaker, as in issuing a threat

   you shall pay for this!

3. 3. vb used as an auxiliary to indicate compulsion, now esp in official documents

   the Tenant shall return the keys to the Landlord

4. 4. vb used as an auxiliary to indicate certainty or inevitability

   our day shall come

5. 5. vb [with any noun or pronoun as subject, esp in conditional clauses or clauses expressing doubt] used as an auxiliary to indicate nonspecific futurity

   I don't think I shall ever see her again

   he doubts whether he shall be in tomorrow

6. 6. vb [Etymology] Old English sceal; related to Old Norse skal, Old High German scal, Dutch zal

7. 7. vb [Usage] The usual rule given for the use of shall and will is that where the meaning is one of simple futurity, shall is used for the first person of the verb and will for the second and third: I shall go tomorrow; they will be there now. Where the meaning involves command, obligation, or determination, the positions are reversed: it shall be done; I will definitely go. However, shall has come to be largely neglected in favour of will, which has become the commonest form of the future in all three persons