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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
had did not (verb)
I am doing a study on the incorrect use of the past perfect tense. Specifically "had did". In my corpus research, I have come across instances where it is proper to use this form in the negative. As in, "The surgery that we had didn't work. My question is two part really, is this correct usage? and if so, why? What is the rule that allows for this blending of aspect and tense?
Top answer
] Correct. "had" and "didn't" are not in the same clause. The emphatic "[The surgery that he had] [ did work]" is also possible.
- ] Correct.
- "had" and "didn't" are not in the same clause.
- The emphatic "[The surgery that he had] [ did work]" is also possible.
- There is no past perfect tense in these sentences.
- CJ
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4 Answers
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Anonymous[ The surgery that he had ] [ didn't work.]Correct. "had" and "didn't" are not in the same clause.
The emphatic "[The surgery that he had] [did work]" is also possible.
There is no past perfect tense in these sentences.
CJ
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Greetings, CalifJim and Mr Anonymous,
on first examination, I thought there is nothing more to add here. Indeed, in your specific example «had did» are merely placed together without forming any grammatical form. However, I believe you have covered other instances of «had did» in your research as well. If so, you must have revealed that «had did» is a recurrent grammatical phenomenon of
on first examination, I thought there is nothing more to add here. Indeed, in your specific example «had did» are merely placed together without forming any grammatical form. However, I believe you have covered other instances of «had did» in your research as well. If so, you must have revealed that «had did» is a recurrent grammatical phenomenon of
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Gleb_Chebrikoff,
The purpose of the research is to compare a prescriptive rule of grammar to the descriptive forms that are found in spoken and written English. Thank you for the link, as it will give me another source to fall back on as I write my findings and attempt to explain when those words collocate prescriptively correct, and when they do not. At any rate, I am grateful.
The purpose of the research is to compare a prescriptive rule of grammar to the descriptive forms that are found in spoken and written English. Thank you for the link, as it will give me another source to fall back on as I write my findings and attempt to explain when those words collocate prescriptively correct, and when they do not. At any rate, I am grateful.
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