"Having had"

Question

"Having had little education herself, she had very high educational aspirations for her children."
i can't understand the grammar has been used in the sentence above !.
"Having had" could you please to explain to me about the grammar and also what does it mean?

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Some people call it a reduced clause, some call it a participle phrase, but in Scandinavia it is commonly called a clause equivalent.The sentence means: Because she had had (very) little education, she had very high educational aspirations for her children. In other words, because she had not received much education, she wanted her children to do better in that respect.

There are many types of clause equivalents, and the topic is far too large to be dealt with in detail here. You can google for "reduced clauses" and you'll be taken to websites that provide grammatical information about them.

CB

Mirmohamad · Answer

thanks for your prompt and comprehensive answers ( you and your team) !.

Mirmohamad · Answer

Dear sir.
could you please to introduce me a authorized web site to get more information in this regard.(clause equivalent)

AlpheccaStars · Answer

mirmohamad"Having had" could you please to explain to me about the grammar and also what does it mean?

The present participle is often used as a noun modifier.

The simplest form is in the adjective position:
The mother picked up the crying baby.

Next, if there are adverbials or other elements, it is placed after the noun:
The mother picked up the baby crying from hunger in his cradle.

Next, if the noun is a subject, then sometimes the reduced (participial) clause is put at the beginning of the sentence:
Crying from hunger in his cradle, the baby woke his mother up.

You can always convert these "reduced" clauses to full clauses by adding a helping verb and conjunction:
The mother picked up the baby who was crying from hunger in his cradle.

Your example is a bit more complicated because it uses the perfect form of the participle. This uses "having" + past participle. Here are some examples:

Having finished his exam paper early, he handed it to the teacher and went home.
Having cut himself badly with a knife, he called the medics.
Having won the final match against the best team in the league, we cheered wildly.

In writing, you have to be very careful that the clause actually modifies the subject. These are wrong:
X Running down the street, the slippery ice caused him to fall and break his leg.
X Having finished his exam paper early, the teacher told him that he could leave.

Here is a web site for reference: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/participle-clauses

Cool Breeze · Answer

mirmohamadcould you please to introduce me a authorized web site to get more information

Here are a couple, but they are not very comprehensive.
http://random-idea-english.blogspot.fi/2012/02/reduced-relative-clauses-lesson-and.html

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/participle-clauses

CB

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