I'd had grammar lessons by then

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the grammatical puzzle involving the phrase "had had" and its variations. Participants explore the construction of sentences using multiple instances of the word "had," focusing on grammatical correctness and creativity in contextualization. The scope includes playful linguistic challenges and the exploration of past and past perfect tenses.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that a simple sentence using "had" could be "I have listed eight hads in a row," but critiques it as lazy and unimaginative.
  • Another participant recalls a similar puzzle with seven "had"s and mentions the possibility of extending it to ten.
  • A different participant presents a construction with nine "had"s, maintaining grammatical integrity with capitalization.
  • Further contributions include variations of sentences with increasing numbers of "had"s, suggesting that the structure can scale indefinitely.
  • One participant contextualizes a scenario involving characters Jimmy and Jill, illustrating the use of "had had" in a narrative about a grammar lesson.
  • Another playful response reiterates the challenge of contextualizing the phrase "had had had had had had had" as a solution to the puzzle.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the playful nature of the puzzle and the potential for constructing increasingly complex sentences. However, there is no consensus on a definitive solution or the best approach to contextualization, as multiple interpretations and constructions are presented.

Contextual Notes

Some constructions may depend on specific interpretations of grammatical rules, and the discussions involve various assumptions about the use of past and past perfect tenses. The complexity of the sentences raises questions about clarity and grammatical correctness that remain unresolved.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in linguistics, grammar puzzles, or playful explorations of language may find this discussion engaging.

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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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.
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eom
 
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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"'
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eom
 
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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"'.
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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.
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for 26.
 
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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.

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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"'`.

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etc.
 
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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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.
 

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