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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Grammar question
Grammar question
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barbario
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Grammar question
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We can say: Shall we go to the cinema? but can we say: Why shan �t we go to the cinema? |
16 Mar 2016
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Mariethe House
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I think: "why don �t we go tothe cinema?" is preferable. Never heard "why shan �t we go..".
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16 Mar 2016
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yanogator
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In the US, "shan �t" isn �t used at all. I don �t know about other countries on that. I agree with Mariethe. Bruce |
16 Mar 2016
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cunliffe
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Marieth� and Bruce are right. �Shan �t � has gone out of the language.
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16 Mar 2016
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barbario
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Thanks a lot. That �s what I thought but a student insisted that I ask. |
16 Mar 2016
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spinney
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What about, "I shan �t keep you,?" We still say that where I �m from. "Why shan �t we go?" is wrong though. |
17 Mar 2016
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alien boy
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�Shall� & �shan�t� are both considered archaic by many English speakers, so are not used. If they are used, the person saying/writing them comes across as/is taken as/is considered to be using �affected� speech/mannersims. However, as there are hundreds of different dialects of English, then its use may not have disappeared entirely, as evinced by Dale�s post. � Cheers, AB� �
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17 Mar 2016
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barbario
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Spinney and alien boy: Thanks for the clarification |
18 Mar 2016
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spinney
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By the way, I still teach shall of offering to do things, we don �t really use it for the future anymore (although some very posh people do) but it �s common to say "shall I open a window, get you a drink, turn on the heater, bring your breakfast to your room?" etc. I think the Americans use it more though in that sense. |
19 Mar 2016
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