If anyone can

Question

1. "If anyone can mastermind a win in Dublin, it's Billy Bingham." 2. "If anyone can mastermind a win in Dublin , Billy Bingham can."Do the above two sentences convey the same meaning ?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Yes.

Clive

Avangi · Answer

Yes, they do.

Debpriya De · Answer

The first sentence means that "Billy" is the only person who can mastermind a win.
But the sentence can also mean that if anyone can mastermind a win, then Billy must also be able to do it.

Avangi · Answer

1. "If anyone can mastermind a win in Dublin, it's Billy Bingham."
2. "If anyone can mastermind a win in Dublin , Billy Bingham can."

The first sentence means that "Billy" is the only person who can mastermind a win.
But the sentence can also mean that if anyone can mastermind a win, then Billy must also be able to do it.

This distinction is logically true, but in practice, they're both understood to have the same meaning, somewhere between your two options.
It doesn't really mean that he's the only one - but he could be.

The corollary is equally common, and less ambiguous: "If he can't do it, nobody can."

If anyone can

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