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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Please refer to this

Hello everyone, I'm an English teacher in Brazil and I'm wondering whether this sentence is actually correct or not.

"If I believe I can do it, I'll probably acquire the capacity to do so, even though I hadn't had it in the beginning"

I would really appreciate any help

Thank You
  

Top answer

Anonymous If I believe I can do it, I'll probably acquire the capacity to do so, even though I hadn't had it in the beginning. It's correct, but awkward. You only need ...

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous If I believe I can do it, I'll probably acquire the capacity to do so, even though I hadn't had it in the beginning.
  • It's correct, but awkward.
  • You only need ...
  • even though I didn't have it in the beginning at the end.
  • It's also awkward because the two "it"s in the sentence refer to different things.
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7 Answers
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AnonymousIf I believe I can do it, I'll probably acquire the capacity to do so, even though I hadn't had it in the beginning.
It's correct, but awkward. You only need ... even though I didn't have it in the beginning at the end.

It's also awkward because the two "it"s in the sentence refer to different things. The first "it" is the thing you
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Yes it is repetitive.. but it's a translation I did from Portuguese into English, it's an old saying.

But I think I didn't quite get the line between awkward and wrong.. So it is right then? And what is the problem with "it"s referring to 2 different things in the same sentece? How could one improve it?

Thanks
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Anonymousthe line between awkward and wrong.
"Wrong" means it contains a grammatical error. Your sentence is not wrong.
Anonymouswhat is the problem with "it"s referring to 2 different things in the same sentence?
It confused me. Maybe it wouldn't confuse others, but it confused me.
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AnonymousI didn't quite get the line between awkward and wrong
Stylistic awkward vs Grammatically wrong
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Thanks a lot for the replies

Just one more thing.. By instinct I had chosen had had over have had.. but for some reason, I find maybe both would be ok for the sentence (even though didn't have was simpler)
Had I replaced 'had had' with 'have had' would the sentence be wrong?
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Tricolorrr533Had I replaced 'had had' with 'have had' would the sentence be have been wrong?
Yes, it would have been wrong because of the mention of a time (in the beginning).

Present perfect (have had) cannot be used with a mention of a time.

CJ
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Case closed then, thanks for the 'have been wrong' too hehe
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