Prediction with SHALL and WILL: a diachronic perspective
Maurizio Gotti · 2006
The paper analyses the evolution of the use of SHALL and WILL for the expression of the predictive function, using data drawn from both diachronic and synchronic corpora. For each period analysed, the following subcategories are taken into consideration: neutral prediction, prophecy, assurance. The aim of the longitudinal study carried out in the paper is to draw a few generalisations about some of the developments that have led to the contemporary usage of WILL and SHALL for the expression of predictive uses, so as to find confirmation of the evolutionary trend commonly pointed out in the literature about these central modals.