Had to clear
“And they literally have a brilliant vision to turn Sirte, with the help of the municipality of Sirte, to turn it into the next Dubai. The only thing they’ve got to do is clear the dead bodies away and then they’ll be there.” (Boris Johnson at the Conservative Party conference.)
"Downing Street has rebuked Boris Johnson for saying a war-torn Libyan city only had to “clear the dead bodies away” to become a world-class tourist destination, after Theresa May faced calls from her own MPs to sack him." (The Guardian's report about Johnson's comment.)
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My question is: why did The Guardian's journalists use the Past Simple "had to clear..." in their report about Johnson's comment when Johnson himself used the Present Perfect and Simple Present in his speech about that ("they’ve got to do is clear...")?Top answer
In this context, "the only thing they’ve got to do" and "the only thing they have to do" mean the same. The former is a bit more informal. It is present perfect in grammatical form but not really in intent.
- In this context, "the only thing they’ve got to do" and "the only thing they have to do" mean the same.
- The former is a bit more informal.
- It is present perfect in grammatical form but not really in intent.
- The journalist probably chose "had to" because formulating the "have got to" version for this reported-speech context is more awkward.
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In this context, "the only thing they’ve got to do" and "the only thing they have to do" mean the same. The former is a bit more informal. It is present perfect in grammatical form but not really in intent. The journalist probably chose "had to" because formulating the "have got to" version for this reported-speech context is more awkward.
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