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Which one is the most appropriate:

  1. He is the bravest man to ever exist.
  2. He is the bravest man that has ever existed.
  3. He is the bravest man ever existed.

1 Answer 1

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Only number 3 is ungrammatical.

For a relative clause where the relativised element is the subject, that or the relative word who/which may not be omitted.

As it is, number three gives a passive voice interpretation and since exist is an intransitive verb, this produces an undesirable result. Compare:

He is the bravest man ever interviewed by this magazine.

It could be fixed simply by removing existed

He is the bravest man ever.

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