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Janaj Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
for had they had ...
I have run on the sentence : For had they had their way, we would have lost our chance.
It is very heavy for me to understand, what that exactly mean? Thank you for help.
It is very heavy for me to understand, what that exactly mean? Thank you for help.
Top answer
" "For" is more poetic and exotic. The verb in the first clause is "have" in the past perfect tense. It is also idiomatic - "to have one's way" means to get what you want.
- " "For" is more poetic and exotic.
- The verb in the first clause is "have" in the past perfect tense.
- It is also idiomatic - "to have one's way" means to get what you want.
- Rephrased: If we had done what they wanted us to do, we would have lost our chance.
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4 Answers
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It is a conditional (hypothetical) if-condition in the past.(third conditional - see http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-conditional_4.htm )
This pattern is rather uncommon - the subject and auxiliary verb are
This pattern is rather uncommon - the subject and auxiliary verb are
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janajFor had they had their way, we would have lost our chance.For = Because
had they = if they had
had their way = prevailed; succeeded in making things go the way that they wanted things to go
lost our chance = not had the opportunity (to do something)
Because if they had prevailed, we would not have had the opportunity (to do something
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CalifJim - your answer the best fit to the context, very appreciated, it saved my study Jana
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