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Re: Fw: english grammar
- Subject: Re: Fw: english grammar
- From: Leslie Bialler lb136@xxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:45:22 -0500
"I shall return," General MacArthur
This is an interesting one. One can make the argument that the General should have said, I WILL
return, on the grounds that this was his intention and that come hell or high water he would make
certain to reappear.
However (and I suspect this is what the General was thinking), to use "shall" here implies
destiny, inevitability or fate.
And so it proved to be.
--
Leslie Bialler, Columbia University Press
lb136@xxxxxxxx
61 W. 62 St, NYC 10023
212-459-0600 X7109 (phone) 212-459-3677 (fax)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup