Re: Finding a verb word in French
francescoandrio wrote:How can I precisely translate English verb 'Shall' into French word?
"Shall" is an auxiliary verb denoting either: (1) a command or exhortation ("you shall go"); (2) future certainty ("it shall happen"); (3) the future tense ("we shall go to the store"); or (4) in questions where there is uncertainty regarding ability or permission ("shall we go to the store?"). See
this link for a more complete definition.
In the first case, "shall" is similar to "must." In the second and third cases, it is similar to "will." In the fourth case, it is similar to "can" or "may."
In French, the command would be translated as "faire" or "falloir," depending on the context. The future cases would either be translated as a form of "aller" or would not be translated at all (since the future tense in French is a simple, rather than a compound, tense). In the case of questions, it would also probably not be translated at all, or the French might use a reflexive construction.