M.swan PEU (3rd edition-unit:217) says,
" Topic: announcing decisions: will
We often use will when we tell people about a decision as we make it.for instant if we're agreeing to do something.
e.g:1. OK. we'll buy the tickets.
2.The phone's ringing. I'll answer it.Shall is not used in this way.
e.g:You can have it for $50. -OK.I'll buy it. (NOT: I shall buy it) "
According to this, we can't use shall (with first persons) for intentions or decisions which made at the time of speaking.but the book 'Cambridge Grammar Of English' and these web seits( 1 , 2 ) say that shall can be used to announce intentions or decisions. for example,
- I don't want anyone with me.I shall do this on my own. (reference:CGE)
- I shall contact you again when I have further information.
So my questions is, is it possible to use shall for intentions or decisions as we make them(with I&we)? [if the answer is Yes ,Why do PEU say "shall is not used for decisions "]
I searched on the internet and read lot of grammar book but I could not find a clear answer to this confusion.so any answer is appreciated.
Best Answer
There's a useful summary on Grammar Girl, which points out that...
But in practice it's a declining usage everywhere - particularly in recent decades, native Anglophones are much more likely to just place heavy stress on will to emphasise "resolute/defiant intention" over and above the standard "future tense" sense of the auxiliary verb.
When Practical English Usage says "shall is not used for decisions", they're talking about the kind of "voluntary, unforced" decision you might make in a restaurant...
...where the first version is standard, and carries no implications beyond the fact that you've made a choice. The second version (which would be somewhat "unusual", particularly for AmE and younger speakers in general) is only likely to occur in contexts where the speaker for some reason wants to inject a note of defiance/determination (perhaps because whoever's paying the bill has asked his guests not to choose the most expensive items on the menu).
EDIT: There's also this rather quirky BrE "rule": use shall with I/we, and will with you/he/she/it/they (except when expressing determination, in which case the usages are reversed). But as that Oxford Dictionaries link implies, in practice most people don't even know the "rule" (and most of those that do routinely ignore it anyway).
TL;DR: If your coursework specifically addresses "correct" use of shall, and you have an exam to pass, remember and repeat whatever you were taught. If the distinction wasn't covered, or you're not taking an exam anyway, just use will in all cases.