Guest vjc Posted September 24, 2018 at 04:58 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 at 04:58 PM What is the difference between the words 'can' and 'shall' in RONR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted September 24, 2018 at 05:18 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 at 05:18 PM I think your closest dictionary would give you your answer. However, seems to me that "can" means deciding whether to do something is an option where "shall" means that there is no option available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted September 25, 2018 at 04:33 PM Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 at 04:33 PM RONR seems much more fond of can, since it appears 828 times in the book, versus shall, which appears a paltry 136 times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted September 26, 2018 at 04:13 PM Report Share Posted September 26, 2018 at 04:13 PM On 9/24/2018 at 12:58 PM, Guest vjc said: What is the difference between the words 'can' and 'shall' in RONR? On 9/24/2018 at 1:18 PM, Chris Harrison said: I think your closest dictionary would give you your answer. However, seems to me that "can" means deciding whether to do something is an option where "shall" means that there is no option available. Some would say there is always the option to disobey. :-) But I agree with you: RONR uses these words according to their ordinary meanings. "Can" indicates ability, possibility, or permission. "Shall" indicates an instruction, mandate, or authoritative statement of a future fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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