Uses of shall

Uses of " shall"
In the past, ‘shall’ was often used as an alternative to ‘will’, and you can find many examples of ‘shall’ in famous literary works. But in modern English we usually prefer ‘will’ for affirmative and negative sentences. However, we still use ‘shall’ to form questions with ‘I’ and ‘we’ in questions, especially in British English.
We form sentences with ‘shall’ in the same way as we do with ‘will’.
The negative form is created by adding ‘not’:
We use ‘shall’ in the following ways:
a) to make offers using I/we
• Shall I make some lunch?
• Shall we help you with your bags?
• Where shall I drop you off? Outside your office?
• Shall I water your plants while you’re away?
b) to make suggestions using I/we
• Shall we go to the park later?
• Shall we have something to eat?
• Who shall we invite to the party?
• What shall we do after we’ve watched the film?
c) to express formal obligations
• Applicants shall provide evidence of their qualifications.
• Guests shall not remove anything from the rooms.
• The tenant shall pay the agreed amount on the first day of every month.
• The accused shall appear in court again on 26th October.
d) to make a promise
• I shall never forget the help you gave me.
• I shan’t be late.
• We shall do everything we can to solve the problem.
• He shan’t be long. Do have a seat while you wait.
e) to describe the future very formally
• We shall overcome this difficult moment.
• The tests shall be carried out by an independent body.
• Mr. Lopez shall begin his talk at 2:30pm.
• Access to the city center shall be limited today due to the marathon.
Will or Shall?
As a general rule, use ‘will’ for affirmative and negative sentences about the future. Use ‘will’ for requests too. If you want to make an offer or suggestion with I/we, use ‘shall’ in the question form. For very formal statements, especially to describe obligations, use ‘shall’.