How do you say "shall"?

Question

Hello, I want to say "shall I speak in English or Spanish?" But how does one say "shall" ?

Thanks so much

Answer 1

Here are some examples from my dictionary.

Note that Shall is a Modal - not a verb at all - it cannot be conjugated but is often called an auxiliary verb..

There are 11 of them:

Can - Could / Will - Would / Shall - Should / Ought to - Used to / May - Might and Must

They do not exist in Spanish.

A modal modifies any verb and is always the same form for all persons in all situations.

Examples:

The proprietor shall not be held liable for repairs.

El proprietario no será responsable de las reparaciones.

He shall be given a fair trial. / Tendrá un juicio justo.

I shan’t go. / No iré.

Shall I drive? / ¿Quieres que conduzca yo?

Shall we take our swimsuits? / ¿Nos llevamos el bañador?

Shall we pick you up? / ¿Te vamos a buscar?

I shall tell her tomorrow. / Se lo diré mañana.

I shall be in touch with you again shortly. / Te llamaré o te veré dentro de poco.

I will return. / Volveré. = prediction.

I shall return. = Promise.

For Spanish speakers.

NOTA Shall es un verbo modal al que sigue un infinitivo sin to, y las oraciones interrogativas y negativas se construyen sin el auxiliar do.(esp GB)

Thank you for postíng this, Ian :) - FELIZ77, Apr 1, 2017

De nada amigo. - ian-hill, Apr 1, 2017

Not considering legal stuff, I once heard that "shall" must be used only in first person singular. Is this correct? - 005faa61, Apr 1, 2017

thanks ian - Polyglot1day, Apr 2, 2017

Answer 2

The "shall" of permission is different from the "shall"/ "will" of the future tense. so the use of "debo" is proper here. "I shall speak in Spanish" (future tense) would be "Hablaré en español.

Most often you can just use the present tense in the "question" form "¿Hablo en español ahora?

"¿Nos sentamos aquí?" Shall we sit down here?

So was I nearly right my dear heart ? - ray76, Apr 1, 2017

Daniela thanks so much - Polyglot1day, Apr 1, 2017

Answer 3

Hello Polyglot,

Welcome to our Spanishdict community forum

In English, the word 'shall' is rarely used these days....having been almost completely superseded by the word 'will' of the future tense.

When 'shall' was commonly used as a question many years ago, it used to be used to mean 'ought to' eg "Shall we go for a walk?" = "Do you think we ought to go for a walk?"/ "Do you think we should go for walk?"

The word 'may' is really the correct word to ask for permission. eg: "May we have another look around the flat, please?"

When I was a young child, my sister and I used to play with the children of one of neighbours and the mother would (used to) often correct me when I asked if I could do something. I would usually say Can I play with your children, today? She would say you should say, May I go to the toilet?

Nowadays, many, if not most, people say: "Can I .....? when asking for permission so the correct distinction has been lost.

May I / we (do something) ? = Asking for permission. Can I / we (do something) ? = Are we able / capable (of doing something)? Should I / shall we (do something) = Is it right for us to (do something)?

So, to deal with your question, now

Shall I speak in Spanish?

Literally, should is translated using the verb 'deber', but Spanish people usually just use the verb in the present indicative: eg: Shall I tell him the truth? = ¿Le diga la verdad?

I hope this helps

feliz thank you - Polyglot1day, Apr 2, 2017

Answer 4

Yo debo. I shall.

¿Debo hablar en español?

I may be wrong but I think that this means ,"I shall speak.as well as I should.

ray thanks - Polyglot1day, Apr 1, 2017