4.3. The far future 4.3.1. Will and shall The future expression of will and shall is not the near future because causes or plans are not in the present. It means the weak relationship with the present, that is, the future events which the speaker considers on the spot. (*21) *21 "Will" is preferred to "shall" now, although "shall" was often used before. Especially it was used for the first person, and then "will" was used for the second and third person, because "will" with the first person expressed the volition strongly and "shall" with the second and third person expressed the obligation. But in the present English, "will" is used for the three persons. (19) a. You will feel better after this medicine. b. Tomorrow's weather will be cold and cloudy. c. Perhaps they will come. (19a) means the speaker's judgment or expectation on the spot where s/he utters. (19b) is the same, and the weather can be said with "be going to" as you know, the next examples compare the two forms. (20) a. The weather will hold clear tomorrow. b. The weather is going to hold clear tomorrow. As mentioned above, "be going to" means the cause or the plan is in the present, therefore, (20b) means the speaker's judgment after seeing the sky or hearing the weather report. But (20a) means mere prediction. (21) a. It will be a big storm tomorrow. b. It is going to be a big storm. (21b) means the storm comes soon, but (21a) does not do. (22) a. She is going to have a baby in July. b. She will have a baby in July. (22a) means the plan, but (22b) means the prophecy. Now, "perhaps" and "maybe" can be co-occurred with "will" and "shall" like (19c), because the meaning of the prediction corresponds to them. See the following examples. (23) a.*Perhaps we are arriving at Haneda Airport. b.*Maybe we are leaving for Italy tomorrow. The above is unacceptable, because of the present progressive form (PrPro) which means the agreement. The next time representation is "will" and "shall." (24) In the above, M is put at the future unlike the near future, since the cause or the plan is not in the present and the speaker's focus is put at the future. Moreover, the future point of M illustrates that the future time adverbials are often co-occurred. See the following examples. (25) a.*It will rain. b. It will rain tomorrow. (25a) is odd, because it is unknown when it rains.

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