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He is the boy to do it.

What's the meaning of this sentence?

He is the boy who does it.

Or, He is the boy who did it.

Or, He is the boy who will do it?

One more sentence is here.

He is the boy to have done it.

Does it mean 'He is the boy who has done it '?

2 Answers 2

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“He is the boy to do it” means he is the best person to perform the task. If Bob is a computer expert and someone needs help with a computer, you might say “Bob is the boy to do it.”

“He is the boy to have done it” means, “If somebody did it (and you don’t know who), he is the most likely person.”

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  • He is the boy to do it.

That is just a statement about a general situation and does not imply he actually will do it. He is just the right person to do something.

However, we don't know what the doing concerns.

The same goes for the past tense (it's a general idea), except it concerns the past:

  • He is the boy to have done it.

It implies he actually didn't do it but was the right person to have done it.

All the others with a tensed verb imply performance of an action, will do it, did do it or has done it.

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