[Grammar] come first

[ROFTOK]

What do these mean?

1) He came first.
a) He was the first one to come.
b) The first thing he did was to come.

2) He was to come first.
a) He had to be the first one to come.
b) The first thing he had to do was to come.

 

[tedmc]

The first is a completed action. The second is an expectation/ obligation, which may not have been fulfilled.

 

[ROFTOK]

Thank you! Taking into account that I can easily go astray in my understanding of the answers I get, could you help me out by specifically pointing out the option which works. Is it a or b?

1 = a correct/incorrect
1 = b correct/incorrect
2 = a correct/incorrect
2 = b correct/incorrect

 

[ROFTOK]

All six are grammatically possible. Which one is appropriate depends on the message you wish to convey.

Thanks a lot. I must have been not clear enough. The a's and b's are my interpretations of 1 and 2. Am I to understand that sentence 1 may mean either (both) a or b and the same goes for sentence 2.

1) He came first. MAY MEAN a) He was the first one to come. OR b) The first thing he did was to come.

2) He was to come first. MAY MEAN a) He had to be the first one to come. OR b) The first thing he had to do was to come.

Correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

1 and 1a mean about the same. 1b does not mean the same as 1.
2 and 2a are fairly similar in meaning. 2b does not mean the same as 2.

 

[jutfrank]

All interpretations are possible. However, both b interpretations are extremely unlikely because the sentences read very unnaturally for those. Without context, a reader would naturally make the a interpretations.