Shall vs. Will — What's the Difference?

An auxiliary verb used to indicate a future action.

Indicates intention or voluntary action.

To express an obligation or command.

Expresses a prediction or an expectation.

Used in questions to offer or suggest.

Used to express capability or capacity.

Denotes determination in some contexts.

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action

Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.

Diligent purposefulness; determination

Used similarly to indicate determination or obligation in the second and third persons singular or plural.

Self-control; self-discipline

Used in questions with the first person singular or plural to suggest a possible future action.

A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority

(obsolete) To owe.

Deliberate intention or wish

To owe; to be under obligation for.

Free discretion; inclination or pleasure

To be obliged; must.

Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition

A word indicating inevitability or certain prediction.

A legal declaration of how a person wishes their personal possessions to be disposed of after death.

A legally executed document containing this declaration.

To decide on or intend

To yearn for; desire

To decree, dictate, or order

To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will

To grant in a legal will; bequeath

To order to direct in a legal will

To exercise the will.

To make a choice; choose

To wish; desire

(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.

(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.

(auxiliary) Expressing a present tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".

(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).

(auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive), often in questions and negation.

To wish, desire (something).

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

(archaic) Implying will go.

To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.

(transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).

(transitive) To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.

One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.

Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent

(law) A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.

(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.

(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)

The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.

The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.

The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.

Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.

That which is strongly wished or desired.

Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine.

The legal declaration of a person's mind as to the manner in which he would have his property or estate disposed of after his death; the written instrument, legally executed, by which a man makes disposition of his estate, to take effect after his death; testament; devise. See the Note under Testament, 1.

To wish; to desire; to incline to have.

As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.

To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire.

To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree.

To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order.

To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree.

The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention;

A fixed and persistent intent or purpose;

A legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die

Decree or ordain;

Have in mind;

Determine by choice;

Leave or give by will after one's death;

An auxiliary verb to express the future tense.

Indicates habitual action.

While they both can indicate the future, their nuances can differ based on region and context.

"Shall" is less common and is often considered formal in American English.

They might use "shall" for offers or suggestions, as in "Shall we go?"

"Shall" is often used in legal contexts to denote obligation.

In modern usage, "shall" can indicate a stronger sense of obligation or formality.

Mostly, but "will" can also indicate capability, intention, or habitual actions.

Yes, in parts of the UK and other regions, "shall" retains a more distinct usage.

Yes, "will" can express an intentional or voluntary action.

Traditionally, "shall" was used with the first person for future actions, while "will" indicated determination.

"Shall" is generally considered more formal, especially in American English.