I'd had grammar lessons by then

  • Thread starter DaveC426913
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In summary, during a grammar lesson, Jimmy and Jill were tested on their understanding of past and past perfect tenses. Jill beat Jimmy on the test because she correctly used "had had" while Jimmy only used "had". The correct use of "had had" had a better effect on the teacher. This led to a discussion on the possible variations of "had had" in a sentence, with some examples including up to 26 consecutive "had"s. The conversation ended with the statement that the individuals were brilliant.
  • #1
DaveC426913
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Grammar lesson

Contextualize (you may add words before and after, but not in) and punctuate the following fragment, so as to create a meaningful, plausible, sensical and grammatically correct sentence (or sentences):


had had had had had had had had

Clearly, the easiest sentence(s) is some variation of the form "I have listed eight hads in a row, thus: had had had had had had had had". It is also not using "had" grammatically, but merely as an anonymous "word object", and I will immediately pooh-pooh it and derivatives of it as lazy and unimaginative.
 
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  • #2
I saw a similar puzzle years ago using 7 hads. I tried to modifiy it for 8 and then realized I could go to 10.

Alphonse, while Gaston had had "had had", had had "had". "had had" had been correct.

eom
 
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  • #3
Here's one with 9 had's that doesn't cheat the capital H.

Oliver, while Stanley had had 'Alphonse, while Gaston had had "had had", had had "had"', had had 'Gaston, while Alphonse had had "had", had had "had had"'

eom
 
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  • #4
jimmysnyder said:
Here's one with 9 had's that doesn't cheat the capital H.

Which is to say, Oliver, while Stanley had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"', had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"'.

I get 18 consecutive hads.
-OR -

Oliver, while Stanley had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"', had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"'.
'had had "had had", had had "had"' had been correct.

for 26.
 
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  • #5
Now I see that this scales and you can have as many hads as you wish:


Gaston: I had enough.

Alphonse: I had had enough.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Stanley: Alphonse, while Gaston had had "had", had had "had had".

Oliver: Gaston, while Alphonse had had "had had", had had "had".

------------------------------------------------------------------

Romeo: Stanley, while Oliver had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"' had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"'.

Juliet: Oliver, while Stanley had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"' had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"'.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hillary: Romeo, while Juliet had had `had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"' had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"'`, had had `had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"' had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"'`.

Bill: Juliet, while Romeo had had `had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"' had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"'`, had had `had had 'had had "had", had had "had had"' had had 'had had "had had", had had "had"'`.

------------------------------------------------------------------


etc.
 
  • #6
You guys are brilliant.

Contextualizing it, I had had this:

During their grammar lesson, Jimmy and Jill were tested on their understanding of past and past perfect tenses such as in phrases like “I had had a bath that day”. When the test though, Jill beat Jimmy. Jimmy had had “had”, whereas Jill had had “had had”. “Had had” had had a better effect on the teacher.
 
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  • #7
Just for fun:

You had the prior puzzle to contextualize "had had had had had had had", ergo, you had, "had had had had had had had had"(with appropriate punctuation) as an answer.
 

What does "I'd had grammar lessons by then" mean?

"I'd had grammar lessons by then" means that the person had taken grammar lessons at some point in the past and had completed them before a specific point in time.

What is the tense of the verb in "I'd had grammar lessons by then"?

The verb "had" in "I'd had grammar lessons by then" is in the past perfect tense, which is used to talk about an action that was completed before a specific point in the past.

What is the difference between "I'd had grammar lessons by then" and "I had grammar lessons by then"?

The difference between "I'd had grammar lessons by then" and "I had grammar lessons by then" is that "I'd" is a contraction for "I had", making the first sentence in the past perfect tense while the second sentence is in the simple past tense.

Can "I'd had grammar lessons by then" be used in other tenses?

No, "I'd had grammar lessons by then" can only be used in the past perfect tense. It cannot be used in other tenses such as present or future tense.

In what situations would someone say "I'd had grammar lessons by then"?

Someone would say "I'd had grammar lessons by then" if they want to talk about an action that was completed before a specific point in the past, especially when talking about past experiences or events. It could also be used to show contrast between a past event and a later event in the past.

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