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The context: Anne with her brothers and they all have their sandwiches.

"Where do you mean to have lunch ?" asked Anne. "If we stay here much longer, I shall really have to have something to eat - and it's not nearly time yet. I wish I didn't always feel so hungry in the open air".

1-Why is "shall" being used ?
Does it have a special meaning or is it simply expressing future ?
Can 'will' be used instead without any change in the meaning ?

2- What does it mean "I'll have to have something to eat ?"
I can't figure out why there is the second "have".
How is Anne's sentence different than: "If we stay here much longer, I'll really have something to eat ..."

gotube
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user1572206
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1 Answers1

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Enid Blyton's grammar is "correct" but, like everything in her books, a little old-fashioned.

This explains the traditional use of "will" and "shall". In the first person singular or plural (I or we) it is simply the future tense. Yes, you can use "will" if you want to, or learn the traditional usage and then decide!

"I shall have to..." means "I will be obliged to..." or "I will need to..." The tables here explain it well.

..."have something to eat" is simply a colloquial way to say "eat something". In the UK we probably ask "Have you had anything to eat?" more often than "Have you eaten anything?" The reply might be, "Yes, I had something (to eat) before I left home."

So Anne is saying she will really need to eat something.

Your own sentence - "If we stay here much longer, I'll really have something to eat" - suggests food is being piled up in front of her!

In future please tell us where you encountered the text.

Glorfindel
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Old Brixtonian
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  • @Michael Harvey: Five On A Hike Together. You can flip its pages here: https://anyflip.com/rwjgv/nhzl/basic. The good news is George is transitioning. – Old Brixtonian Dec 22 '20 at 00:46
  • The main problem with the "I've really have something to eat" version of the sentence is that it completely loses the notion of "have to" (need to / be obliged to - as you said)! – rjpond Dec 22 '20 at 16:49