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British English: /ʃal/
, /ʃ(ə)l/
American English: /ʃæl/
, /ʃəl/
When shall is used to form the future tense in English, the same rules apply as for will. You will find a note on this and on question tags and short answers in the grammar note . Note, however, that while shall can be used in question tags like other auxiliaries ( we shan't be late, shall we? = non faremo mica tardi, vero?), it is also used in the question tag for the imperative construction introduced by let's with no precise and fixed equivalent in Italian: let's go shopping, shall we? = andiamo a fare spese, eh? let's start working, shall we? = mettiamoci a lavorare, dai!

modal verb

  • 1 (in future tense)I shall o I'll see you tomorrow
    ti vedrò domani
    we shall not o shan't have a reply before Friday
    non avremo una risposta prima di venerdì
  • 2 (in suggestions)shall I set the table?
    apparecchio la tavola? vuoi che apparecchi la tavola?
    shall we go to the cinema tonight?
    andiamo al cinema stasera?
    let's buy some peaches, shall we?
    compriamo delle pesche, va bene?
  • 3 [formal] (in commands, contracts etc.)you shall do as I say
    farai come ti dico io
    the sum shall be paid on signature of the contract
    la somma sarà versata alla firma del contratto
    thou shalt not steal (Bible)

Definition of shall in:

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