Traditional prescriptive rules for shall and will state that with first person subjects shall should
be used to express prediction and will to express volition, while with second and third person
subjects will should be used to express prediction and shall to express volition. The aim of this
study was to ascertain to what extent two 19th century authors, Scotsman Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle and American Edgar Allen Poe, followed these traditional shall and will rules in their
short stories. To this end a selection of short stories written by these authors were collected, and
analysed with respect to usage of shall and will to express volition and prediction, and with
respect to the frequency with which shall and will collocate with first, second and third person
subjects. Results showed that shall as used by both Poe and Doyle favoured a first person
subject and will a third person subject. Results also showed that Doyle followed the shall rules
for first person shall about 50% of the time while Poe followed them about 60% of the time,
and that Doyle followed the shall rules for third and second person shall about 60% of the time
while Poe followed them about 55% of the time. Results further showed that Doyle followed
the will rules for first person will about 40% of the time while Poe followed them about 30% of
the time, and that Doyle followed the will rules for third and second person will about 70% of
the time while Poe followed them about 80% of the time. It was concluded that neither Poe nor
Doyle followed the rules very strictly, that first, second and third person shall was used by both
authors to express prediction and volition in almost equal proportions, and that first, second and
third person will was mostly used to express prediction by both authors.
2016.