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I want to know which one of the following sentences is better (maybe both sentences have flaws) :

They can agree that we start the meeting first.

or

They agree that we start the meeting first.

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    They are both grammatical. They have possibly different meanings (the first implying that 'they' have considered constraints they face).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Apr 22, 2015 at 8:22

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They can agree that we start the meeting first.

means that they have the possibility to agree while

They agree that we start the meeting first.

means they agree to first start with the meeting.

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  • And the first sentence suggests that usually they don't agree!
    – user21820
    Apr 25, 2015 at 6:15
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    @user21820 Yup, if we mention the possibility, there is strong chances that they don't agree. But they can also agree while they were not supposed to ! Mentionning the possibility often underline the fact people didn't act as we would guess, not only negatively.
    – Yohann V.
    Apr 27, 2015 at 6:29
  • Yup my thoughts exactly.
    – user21820
    Apr 27, 2015 at 6:31

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