Undertake vs Shall - What's the difference?

In obsolete terms the difference between undertake and shall

is that undertake is to have or take charge of while shall is to owe.

As verbs the difference between undertake and shall

is that undertake is to take upon oneself; to start, to embark on (a specific task etc.) while shall is Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense, particularly in the first person singular or plural.

undertake
English

Verb

(label) To take upon oneself; to start, to embark on (a specific task etc.).

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:To second, or oppose, or undertake / The perilous attempt.

(label) To commit oneself (to an obligation, activity etc.).

:

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:I'll undertake to land them on our coast.

(label) To overtake on the wrong side.

:

To pledge; to assert, assure; to dare say.

*, Bk.VII:

*:"I have now aspyed one knyght," he seyde, "that woll play hys play at the justys, I undirtake ."

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:And those two counties I will undertake / Your grace shall well and quietly enjoiy.

*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

*:And he was not right fat, I undertake .

* (1665-1728)

*:I dare undertake they will not lose their labour.

To take by trickery; to trap, to seize upon.

*:

*:there came fourty knyghtes to sire Darras // So sire Tristram endured there grete payne / for sekenesse had vndertake hym / and that is the grettest payne a prysoner maye haue

(label) To assume, as a character; to take on.

:(Shakespeare)

(label) To engage with; to attack.

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:It is not fit your lordship should undertake every companion that you give offence to.

(label) To have knowledge of; to hear.

:(Spenser)

(label) To have or take charge of.

*(Geoffrey Chaucer) (c.1343-1400)

*:Keep well those that ye undertake .

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:who undertakes you to your end

Usage notes
* Sense: To commit oneself. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. * See
Derived terms
* undertaker * undertaking
shall
English

Verb
(wikipedia shall)
(modal auxiliary verb, defective)

I shall sing in the choir tomorrow .

* 1900 , L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23

"My third command to the Winged Monkeys," said Glinda, "shall' be to carry you to your forest. Then, having used up the powers of the Golden Cap, I ' shall give it to the King of the Monkeys, that he and his band may thereafter be free for evermore."

(determination''): ''You shall go to the ball!

(obligation''): ''Citizens shall provide proof of identity.

Shall we go out later?

(obsolete) To owe.

Usage notes
* Shall'' is about one fourth as common relative to ''will in North America as in the UK. Some in North America may consider it formal or even pompous. * In the past, will'' and ''shall'' have been used similarly as auxiliary verbs for the future tense. The simple future tense traditionally uses ''shall for the first person ("I" and "we"), and will for the second and third persons. *: I shall go. *: You will go. * An emphatic future tense, with a sense of (must), reverses the two words, using will'' for the first person and ''shall for the second and third person. *: I will go. *: You shall go. * Usage can be reversed in questions and in dependent clauses—especially with indirect discourse. For example: Shall''' you do it?'' is equivalent in meaning to '''''Will''' you do it?'' as it anticipates your response ''I '''shall''' do it.'' Or: ''he says that he '''shall''' win'' or ''he expects that he '''shall''' win'' report his saying ''I '''shall''' win'', not ''I '''will win.
See also
* ought * shalt * shan't * should * will *
Statistics
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Anagrams
* English auxiliary verbs English defective verbs English irregular verbs English modal verbs