had or had had

[nansdomain]

Hello there,


Could you please tell me whether the following sentence is correct.

(A) They were thrown out of the hotel because they had had too much to drink.

Why ‘had had’ is used there? What is the difference in meaning if I say:

(B) They were thrown out of the hotel because they had too much to drink.

Usage of ‘had had’ is confusing me. A little bit of explanation would be helpful.
Thanks

[MikeNewYork]

Hello there,


Could you please tell me whether the following sentence is correct.

(A) They were thrown out of the hotel because they had had too much to drink.

Why ‘had had’ is used there? What is the difference in meaning if I say:

(B) They were thrown out of the hotel because they had too much to drink.

Usage of ‘had had’ is confusing me. A little bit of explanation would be helpful.
Thanks

A is correct, even though "had had" looks strange. The first "had" is an auxiliary verb indicating the past perfect. The second "had" is the past participle of the main verb "have".

B is also acceptable. The context makes it very clear that the drinking preceded the eviction. So the simple past "had" is fine for me.

[nansdomain]

Oh..yes..I got it... Thank you Mike.

[MikeNewYork]

Oh..yes..I got it... Thank you Mike.

You're welcome.