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Old March 25th 16, 01:44 AM posted to uk.transport.london
[email protected] rosenstiel@cix.compulink.co.uk is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,877
Default Underground grammar fail

In article , (Peter
Beale) wrote:

On 14-Mar-16 12:40 PM, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at
05:22:47 on Mon, 14 Mar 2016,
remarked:

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?


"Will" is a mere prediction, "Shall" implies that the speaker is somehow
complicit in making it happen.


I don't know why, but I was taught to use 'shall' for the first
person singular and plural, 'will' for the rest - with that being
reversed for the emphatic use - 'I will go to bed earlier', 'she
shall go to the ball.'


So was I. Seems simple enough. Young people today, eh?

--
Colin Rosenstiel