Had had a bad day

[Madness1]

"You seemed upset yesterday."
"I had a bad day" ✔

But what about this:
"You seemed upset yesterday."
"I had had a bad day."

I am not sure it is correct. Is it?
Are there any differences between UK and US English here? I know that US English uses more past perfect than UK English but that simply doesn't sound right to me.

 

[jutfrank]

It's appropriate to use the past perfect in this context. The speaker is explaining why she was upset by providing some background context.

 

[Madness1]

It's appropriate to use the past perfect in this context. The speaker is explaining why she was upset by providing some background context.

Oh right. He seemed upset because he had had a bad day.
That also means that past perfect is more appropriate than simple past, correct?

 

[jutfrank]

The past perfect makes it clear that the speaker wants to explain her being upset with background context.

Which form is more appropriate depends on the meaning and use of the utterance.

Did you make up this context yourself?

 

[Madness1]

No, that's just a sentence I had seen somewhere and wasn't sure if it is correct.

 

[emsr2d2]

No, [STRIKE]that's[/STRIKE] it's just a sentence I [STRIKE]had seen[/STRIKE] saw somewhere and I wasn't sure if it is correct.

emsr2d2