Personal view of shall and will pairs.
<Otherwise, I use "shall" with a slight connotation of "must be"/"will have to be", in a sense like "It shall happen" (intensive and certain; forceful; purposeful intent)>
I use it in the same way. This is the basic semantic meaning of "shall", for those of us who remember how to distinguish between that and "will".
Shall and will are similar in meaning, but shall has the extra meaning of "if it's anything to do with me" ("if it's anything to do with you", in questions). It seems that AmE has mostly lost that use and now has extended it to will.
All uses of shall share a common meaning, i.e. the explicit involvement of the speaker in the creation of the "inevitability".
Shall= According to my perception of the present situation, it is, if it's anything to do with me, it is inevitable that...
Sorry. Edit.
Shall= According to my perception of the present situation, it is, if it's anything to do with me, inevitable that...
My edit. Soory, again.
Another edit, if you will allow:
Shall and will are similar in meaning, but shall has the extra meaning of "if it's anything to do with me, the speaker" ("if it's anything to do with you", the listener, in questions). It seems that AmE has mostly lost that use and now has extended it to will.
Will vs shall (for those who distinguish between the two forms):
Will = Given my perception of the situation, it is inevitable that...
Shall= According to my perception of the present situation, it is, if it's anything to do with me, inevitable that...
well,
Shall originally meant something like "ought to" (a meaning continued by "should", its preterite)
so that "I shall go" originally meant "I should go/I ought to go"
Will meant "want to" and still does in many instances (When asked at dinner by a waiter/waitress: "What will you have?"/"What will it be?" it means what do you want {to have}; not what is it going to be)
so that "I will go" meant "I want to go {i.e. therefore I am going to go}"
<Shall originally meant something like "ought to" (a meaning continued by "should", its preterite) >
And what use is that information to people wanting to learn the language today?
It's strange how most respondents in this thread want to give grammar lessons or a historical lesson on the use of those forms. What happened to your PERSONAL opinions of those forms? That is what was asked for.
Ok sentences I'd make with 'shall':
A guy accidentally spills his coffee on me.
"Shall I punch you in the face now?"
or
You along with a friend break a valuable vase.
"What shall we do now eh?"
In both cases emphasis is on shall and also they sound somewhat playful..
Hope it helps :)
People who use SHALL speak like this: It is I... Whom do you like?...
Affectation.
<<And what use is that information to people wanting to learn the language today? >>
Information is not a bad thing...
If you do not want it, skip over it.
A lot of the usage of English today is directly the result of how it was spoken in the past.
«Is anyone able to anser the question?»
I'll answer your question.
He shall become our next king.
He will become our next king.
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No real difference with those to me, though a purist would say otherwise.
Shall I break your arms? → “Do you want me to break your arms? ‘Cause I will.”
Will I break your arms? → “Will I break your arms, I don't know myself.”
I shall never forget my roots. → Sounds weird. Like the person isn't determined to actually remember his/her roots.
I will never forget my roots. → Sounds much better. Makes me think the person is actually serious.
Man shall explore the distant regions of the universe. → Almost sounds like someone who can see the future.
Man will explore the distant regions of the universe. → Sounds like someone just making a statement. More natural than 'shall'.
We shall overcome → Clichéd, and not technically accurate, even in the context of the cliché.
We will overcome. → Sounds better, like the people actually plan on doing something about it.
_____
I hope that helped you a little.
Enjoy,
Jon