ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shalt

v.
C2 Proficiency US //ˈʃæɫt// UK //ʃˈælt// shalt Archaic

v. an old-fashioned way to say 'shall'. You only see this in very old books or religious texts when someone is giving a strong command.

v. the archaic second-person singular form of 'shall'. Used exclusively with the pronoun 'thou' in historical, liturgical, or poetic contexts.


SIMPLE

Thou shalt not steal.

CONTEXTUAL

In the old text, the king declares that thou shalt obey the laws of the land.

COMPLEX

The poet uses 'thou shalt' to evoke a sense of timeless authority, grounding the modern verse in the linguistic traditions of the King James Bible.

Origin

From Middle English schalt, from Old English sċealt, from Proto-West Germanic *skalt. Compare wilt.

Usage

Always follows the archaic pronoun 'thou'. Functions as an auxiliary verb to express a command or a future certainty.

Pitfall

You shalt goThou shalt go'Shalt' is only used with the archaic second-person singular pronoun 'thou', never with 'you'.

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