[who will solve most of the very difficult problems] or [to solve most of the very difficult problems]

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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ansonman
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[who will solve most of the very difficult problems] or [to solve most of the very difficult problems]

Post by ansonman »

I have made up the sentences below.

(1) The psychic predicts that in ten years, there will be two math geniuses who will solve most of the very difficult problems.

(2) The psychic predicts that in ten years, there will be two math geniuses to solve most of the very difficult problems.

Most of my non-native English speaking friends think both "who will solve" and "to solve" are possible. The reason is that in (1), "who will" makes reference to something significant that will happen in the future, and in (2), "to solve" could mean they have the ability to find the solutions to most of the unsolved problems.

I am not sure if my friends are correct. Please help me. Thank you very much.
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Alan
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Re: [who will solve most of the very difficult problems] or [to solve most of the very difficult problems]

Post by Alan »

Both are grammatical, but (b) is semantically strange: it suggests that the geniuses have somehow been procured for the purpose of solving the problems!
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