Difference Between Shall Be and Would Be (With Table)

English is a very tough language, and putting grammar to it is hard as hell. One should have proper knowledge of past and present tenses for creating sentences in the English language. English is among the most popular languages, and firstly English speaking was started in England.

Making your sentences good and connecting, you should need to put the right verb to them. Shall be and would be both are used for future indicating sentences. Where Shall be is used for probability in a sentence. And Would be showing professing and guiding texture of a sentence.

Shall Be vs Would Be

The main difference between ‘shall be’ and ‘would be’ is that shall be’ is used in a sentence in which there is a future probability or chance is included. And would be is a form of will, but the difference is that ‘would be’ is used to describe that same situation that has already happened in the past and does not exist in the future.

Shall be is a future continuous form of the modal verb shall. And it is used to describe those situations which are going to happen assuredly. Modal verbs are those verbs that illustrate probability, suggestions, and permissions, etc. English grammar contains a total of nine modal verbs that are could, will, may, must, shall, would, might, must, and can.

Would be is a verb that describes the past situations that might have occurred in the present time. If someone is using ‘would be,’ they may refer to the present situation or past situation depending on the sentence. Because ‘would be’ is an adjective auxiliary verb and can be used in many ways.

Comparison Table Between Shall Be and Would Be

Parameters of Comparison

Shall Be

Would Be

Definition

Shall be is a future continuous form of the verb shall. And it is used to describe those situations which are going to happen assuredly.

Would be is a verb that describes the past situations that might have occurred in the present time.

Verb Type

Shall be is a modal verb or an auxiliary verb.

Would be is an adjective modal verb.

Tense type

Shall be is a future continues form type of tense.

Would be is actually related to past tense, but it can also be used as a present tense verb.

Indication

When used in a sentence, ‘Shall be’ indicates things that may occur in the future or are related to the future.

‘Would be’ when used in a sentence to illustrate the past things that had happened with the same situation that is in the present.

Sentence usages

1. I shall be 21 next Wednesday.
3. We shall be doing that assignment.

1. I just thought it would be fun.
2. For the coming two days the shop would be closed.

What is Shall Be?

Shall be is a modal auxiliary verb that is used to tell about the future situation. The sentence in which shall be is used indicates that the person is telling about those things that he or she will be doing in the future. And as it is an auxiliary verb, it also indicates probability or uncertainty in the sentence in which it is used.

Shall be is a form of shall, and it comes under future continuous tense. It always shows probability or doubt in the sentences in which it is used. Some sentences are as follows:

  1. We shall be giving the assignment tomorrow.
  2. I shall be singing my favorite song at the singing competition.
  3. Rohit shall be completing his homework before going to bed.

In all these given examples, there is uncertainty in every sentence, and in some of them, there is the feeling of order or command.

What is Would Be?

Would be is a verb mostly used when a person is trying to indicate or illustrate the feeling of want in a sentence. It also shows the desire for suggestions, advice, or a way of doing something. Shall be is used for situations that might occur in the future and would be is a version of shall be that is used to define situations of the past form.

Would be verb is used when there is some kind of uncertainty, not surety. It mostly indicates the past situations or circumstances that have occurs in the present time. The advantage of using ‘would be’ is that it can be used in both situations where a person is talking about the past and also about the future.

Some sentences by using would be verb are as follows:

  1. I would be dignified to attend the meeting with the prime minister.
  2. He would be going to school the day after tomorrow.

Main Differences Between Shall Be and Would Be

  1. Shall be is used for probability in a sentence, and it indicates future situations. And Would be is a verb that describes the past situations that might have occurred in the present time.
  2. ‘Would be’ is used to suggest or advise something to a person through the sentence. And shall be is used when someone is talking about the future.
  3. Would be is the past form of shall be, but it works both in the present and past tenses. Shall be is a form of shall and is used for the situations which might occur in the future.
  4. Would be is used to illustrate those things in which a person wants or want to do a specific thing. And Shall be is used to illustrate a person’s advice or offer etc.
  5. Would be is an adjective and shall be is a modal auxiliary verb.

Conclusion

For speaking and writing in good English, one needs to understand grammar properly. Shall be and Would-be are different forms of different verbs. Shall be is a form of shall and Would-be is the past form of shall be.

‘Would be’ can be used to describe both the present and past situations because it is an auxiliary verb. Some sentence using the Would Be verb are as follows:

  • It would be the perfect opportunity for them.
  • It would be dangerous for us.

Shall be is a verb that is used to describe future situations. Some sentences using shall be are as follows:

  • We shall be arriving in the US in 20 minutes.
  • I shall be guiding you from tomorrow.

References

  1. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110810301.115/html
  2. http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/4/1/reviews/andersen.html