XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net   
      
   On Thu, 23 Apr 2020 09:20:09 -0700, Paul S Person   
    wrote:   
      
   >No doubt it reflects my age and education, but, in that case, "will"   
   >would be what you want -- for second and third person -- and "shall"   
   >would be a command to do what you ordered.   
   >   
   >In first person, just to make this even more pedantic, these meanings   
   >/reverse/: "I shall" indicates what you intend to do; "I will"   
   >indicates what you are going to do (or, at least, are determined to   
   >do, or are promising to do).   
      
   In my idiolect "shall" in that context implies that the person asking   
   wants to know whether surpassing him is a good idea or not, whereas   
   "will" implies simple prediction.   
      
   But according to Fowler's "Modern English Usage", the difference is   
   north and south rather than East and West, and cites the case of a   
   Scot who fell into an English river and was misunderstood when he   
   shouted out "I shall drown, no one will save me."   
      
   --   
   Stephen Hayes, Author of The Year of the Dragon   
   Sample or purchase The Year of the Dragon:   
   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/907935   
   Web site: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm   
   Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com   
   E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)