Jane,
My understanding has always been that "shall" and "will" pattern with the base form of
verbs to form the future tense, "shall" taking the first person as its subject while "will"
takes the second and third persons as its subject.  When, however, a very emphatic or 
commanding tone is involved, "shall" patterns with the second and third persons and "will" patterns with
the first person.


On Saturday 06/04/2011 at 9:37 pm, Jane Saral wrote:
Friends have just returned from their annual pilgrimage to Ashland, Oregon, and on one flight they saw a sign in the flight attendants' area that said, "Hands shall be washed before serving food or drink."
 
What is this use of "shall" called?
 
Jane Saral
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