0
Curiouscat Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

HAD Had

Hi all,

here's the sentence in question:

"If you had had your fanny pack around your waist where it belonged, they wouldn't have enough time to change their mind."

Sounds complicated since you have a conditional with a past perfect structure somewhere in there.

1) When do we use "had had"?
2) Why isn't the second phrase: "they wouldn't have had enough time to change their mind."

Thanks!
  

Top answer

1-- As here: past condition contrary to fact. 2-- It should be.

  • 1-- As here: past condition contrary to fact.
  • 2-- It should be.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

14 Answers
0
1-- As here: past condition contrary to fact.
2-- It should be.
0
Thanks. I seldom use "Had Had". How else can "Had Had" be used appropriately in casual conversation?
0
You are correct: "had had" sounds "complicated" or even "strange."

Many native speakers here in the United States deal with it in two ways:

(a) They simply leave out one "had" in conversation.

(b) They use a contraction. Then it doesn't sound so "strange":

If you'd had your ***** pack. ...
0
Hi,



'If you had had . . ' doesn't sound odd to me. It just sounds rather emphatic.



Best wishes, Clive
0
So instead of saying:

"If you'd had your ***** pack around your waist where it belonged, they wouldn't have had enough time to change their mind."

is it also correct to say it this way:


"If you had
0
"If you'd had your ***** pack around your waist where it belonged, they wouldn't have had enough time to change their mind."-- Past conditional (Conditional III)

"If you had your ***** pack around your waist where it belonged, they wouldn't have enough time to change their mind."- Present conditional (Conditional II)
0
Hi,

is it also correct to say it this way

No.



Clive
0
Much clearer now. Although im thinking which should apply to this situation:

A buyer hands a large bill to two old folks selling xmas trees by the road side. Husband realizes he left his ***** pack inside the trailer, says that he'll be getting it, comes back out with it in hand, finds out that the the buyer had already left, the sale was lost, wife was upset, to which she says to him th
0
Hi,

They're talking about a hypothetical situation in the past.

"If you'd had your ***** pack around your waist where it belonged, they wouldn't have had enough time to change their mind."

Clive
0
curiouscat"If you had had your ***** pack around your waist where it belonged, they wouldn't have enough time to change their mind."
Hi,
The above sentence may have been considered acceptable in casual conversation, but grammatically, it's incorrect if it was meant to be a 3rd conditional.

"If you

Related Questions