London Banter - View Single Post

James Heaton[_4_] · March 14th 16, 09:43 PM posted to uk.transport.london

"Robin" wrote in message
...
On 14/03/2016 12:22, wrote:
On Saturday, 12 March 2016 18:12:25 UTC, Grebbsy McLaren wrote:
Used Mornington Crescent station for the first time in years today, and
was disappointed to find that the mechanical voice doesn't know the
difference between 'will' and 'shall'

Could you perhaps explain the difference?

Traditionally it's the difference between:

a. a statement of (expected) fact: eg "you will read this post"; and
b. an order or command: eg "you shall read this post" [often with an
explicit or implicit "or else"]

And just to make English that bit harder, the shall/will switch when in
the first person. So eg the old example of the girl who fell in the
Thames at Henley and cried out:

"I will drown; no one shall save me!"

The English gentlemen on the riverbank naturally honoured her clear
expression of intent ("I will...") and her command to them ("no one
shall...") and left her to drown.

They would have of course have leapt to her recuse if only she had cried
out "I shall drown; no one will save me".

I will read the whole thread before replying
I will read the whole thread before replying
x50...

James