Anonymous  +  491133 Thu, 20 Mar 08 05:05 PM Hello all, I hope that someone can help me, a german for whom English is only a foreign language, with the following problem: Does "let the first one to speak be our leader" mean that (i) the person who is currently our leader shall speak first, or that (ii) the first person who will speak will become our new leader? To put it more formally: When I have two references "x" and "y", does "let x be y" mean that from here on, "x" shall refer to what is already known as "y", or that from here on, "y" shall refer to what is currently known as "x"? Thank you very much, Jobst Anonymous Whom

	Grammar Geek  +  491134 Thu, 20 Mar 08 05:10 PM It could be either one. Context will tell you. Shhh! It's not your place to start the discussion. Let the first one to speak be our leader. - Clearly, that's your i. No one wants to take charge. No one knows how to get us out of this mess. I tell you what. Let the first one to speak be our leader, and we will follow that person's lead. - Clearly, that's your ii.   Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,506 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Forbes  +  491385 Fri, 21 Mar 08 11:19 AM The sentence, though perfectly good English, strikes me as slightly unnatural. It is almost as if it has been constructed to throw up the ambiguity.  More natural would be:  Let the leader speak first or The leader should speak first  Whoever speaks first shall be leader. Forbes Joined on Thu, Jun 16 2005 Regular Member 895