Definition of "shall"

shall

/ˈʃæl/

verb
third-person singular simple present shall, no present participle, simple past (archaic) should, no past participle
1. Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.
  Quotations
  "Then, having used up the powers of the Golden Cap, I shall give it to the King of the Monkeys, that he and his band may thereafter be free for evermore."
  1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M. Hill Co.
2. Used similarly to indicate determination or obligation in the second and third persons singular or plural.
  Quotations
  And the gates of it ſhall not bee ſhut at all by day: foꝛ there ſhall bee no night there.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Revelation 21:25, column 1
3. Used in questions with the first person singular or plural to suggest a possible future action.
4. (obsolete) To owe.

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