[Grammar] had

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tomolonight

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1) Can you pls explain the meaning and diffencences in these following:

I had to go.
I had had to go.

I had to change school.
I had had to change school.

2) In what situation that 'had had' should be used?
 
tomolonight said:
1) Can you pls explain the meaning and diffencences in these following:

I had to go.
I had had to go.

I had to change school.
I had had to change school.

2) In what situation that 'had had' should be used?
Click to expand...

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Good morning, Tomolonight.

(1) Maybe these examples will help you a LITTLE:

If I HAVE time, I WILL visit you tomorrow. =

It is possible that I will have time. If I do, I will visit you.

If I HAD time, I WOULD visit you tomorrow. =

Tomorrow I have to work. So there is almost no chance that I will have

time to visit you. Sorry!

*****

Last week your friend invited you to a party. You did not go. Today your

friend sees you. She is very angry. She asks you today: Why didn't

you come to my party last week?

You answer: Oh, I am so sorry! If I HAD HAD time, I WOULD HAVE COME to your party last week, but I had a medical emergency and had to go to the hospital. In fact, I just came back home yesterday. Please forgive me!

Have a nice day!
 
*** NOT A TEACHER ***

Dear Parser,

I think it can also be used as Past Perfect, so not only in conditional sentences. Consider this: I returned to my country with new experiences, grateful for the opportunity I had had to go (Past Perfect) abroad.
 
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~Mav~ said:
*** NOT A TEACHER ***

Dear Parser,

I think it can also be used as Past Perfect, so not only in conditional sentences. Consider this: I returned to my country with new experiences, grateful for the opportunity I had had to go (Past Perfect) abroad.

Am I wrong with this example/interpretation?
Click to expand...

(Not a teacher)
Yes, so long as the "had "+past participle" action happened before another past action which is understood in the context.
 
Can you please use the examples above to explain.

Describe the situation in which 'had had' should be used.

Give me more descriptions, scenario and explanations.

Thanks!
 
tomolonight said:
Can you please use the examples above to explain.

Describe the situation in which 'had had' should be used.

Give me more descriptions, scenario and explanations.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Do you understand the past perfect tense? "Had had" is the past perfect of the verb 'to have', and is used in the same way as any other verb.
I stopped exercising because I had run enough. (verb 'run')
I stopped eating because I had had enough. (Here the second 'had' means 'eaten'. To have = to eat.)
When I got the measles, my brother was safe because he had had the measles before and was immune. (Verb 'have')
 
Can you pls use the 2 examples given above to explain.

I am not so sure of 'had had to'.

Pls give me more examples and situations.
 
tomolonight said:
Can you pls use the 2 examples given above to explain.

I am not so sure of 'had had to'.

Pls give me more examples and situations.
Click to expand...
You haven't answered my question yet. Do you understand i) the formation of the past perfect tense? ii) the usage of the past perfect tense?
Learning how to uses tenses by induction from a few examples is the hard way.

Do you understand "had run to", "had talked to"?
"had had to" is bit more complicated. It is the past perfect form of the verb "have to" meaning "must".
Present tense: I have to go. = I must go.
Past Perfect: I had had to go. No equivalent with "must".
 
*** NOT A TEACHER ***


tomolonight said:
I am not so sure of 'had had to'.

Pls give me more examples and situations.
Click to expand...

I've already given you an example with the Past Perfect form of "have to":
I returned to my country with new experiences, grateful for the opportunity I had had to go abroad.

(Just in case you hadn't noticed it. :) )

But first of all, consider and try to answer Raymott's questions! :idea: ;-)
 
Raymott said:
You haven't answered my question yet. Do you understand i) the formation of the past perfect tense? ii) the usage of the past perfect tense?
Learning how to uses tenses by induction from a few examples is the hard way.

Do you understand "had run to", "had talked to"?
"had had to" is bit more complicated. It is the past perfect form of the verb "have to" meaning "must".
Present tense: I have to go. = I must go.
Past Perfect: I had had to go. No equivalent with "must".
Click to expand...

I got what u meant by PP Tenses
But u did not answer my question either.
1) " I had had to change school"? - (he must change school in the past? or he had planned to change school? )

2) Why can't be " I had to change school "? What is the difference?
 
tomolonight said:
I got what u meant by PP Tenses
But u did not answer my question either.
1) " I had had to change school"? - (he must change school in the past? or he had planned to change school? )

2) Why can't be " I had to change school "? What is the difference?
Click to expand...

You would use "had had to" if you are explaining something that was necessary, in relation to something else's timeframe.

Last year, I had to change schools = Last year, it was necessary for me to start to attend a different school.

Last year, I had to change schools. This was very annoying as I had had to change schools twice the previous year, too! In the second half of the sentence, you are referring back in time to a time which precedes the time in the first half of the sentence. Both halves are in the past, but the second half is longer ago than the first half.
 
tomolonight said:
1) Can you pls explain the meaning and diffencences in these following:

I had to go.
I had had to go.

I had to change school.
I had had to change school.

2) In what situation that 'had had' should be used?
Click to expand...

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Tomolonight.

(1) Don't feel bad about having trouble in understanding the difference between the past and the past perfect.

(2) Sometimes native speakers do not use the past perfect when they are supposed to, and they just use the past.

(3) Please remember: the past perfect refers to something that happened BEFORE something else happened.

I arrived at the party at 10 p.m. I did not see Sue. Someone told me
she HAD LEFT at 9:30. (She did something -- leave at 9:30 -- BEFORE
I did something -- arrive at 10 p.m.) Yes, some native speakers say:

Somebody told me she LEFT at 9:50. (That is not considered "correct" English, but everyone understands.)

(4) I think that emsr has given you an excellent example. If you study his example, I think that you will understand the difference.

(5) I know that it is difficult to understand the difference between "had" and "had had."

(6) Study emsr's example and this one:

(a) It is the month of June.

(b) I am now studying at X School.

(c) I HAD to leave Y School in May because I HAD HAD a problem with one

of my teachers in April.

(i) the problem came BEFORE I left. So "good" English calls for the

past perfect. (Yes, some native speakers would say: because I HAD a

problem with one of my teachers in April. And everyone would

understand. But you are a learner, so it is a good idea to learn "correct"

English.)

(7) If you still do not understand this matter, please keep posting until

you are satisifed that you understand.

***** Thank you *****
 
TheParser said:
***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Tomolonight.

(1) Don't feel bad about having trouble in understanding the difference between the past and the past perfect.

(2) Sometimes native speakers do not use the past perfect when they are supposed to, and they just use the past.

(3) Please remember: the past perfect refers to something that happened BEFORE something else happened.

(7) If you still do not understand this matter, please keep posting until

you are satisifed that you understand.

***** Thank you *****
Click to expand...


Hi,

Your explanation is very good! This is the one I need.

Can you pls explain:

1) I would liked to have had some reading. (is he still reading now or he has done it)

2) ' I would like to ' or ' I would liked to' ( any difference )?
 
tomolonight said:
Hi,

Your explanation is very good! This is the one I need.

Can you pls explain:

1) I would liked to have had some reading. (is he still reading now or he has done it)

I would like to have done some reading = I wish I had done some reading.
I would like to have read something = I wish I had read something.
I would have liked to have had some reading material = I wished I had had some reading material.
I would have liked to have done some reading = I wished I had read something.
In your example, I would say that the speaker has neither already read, nor is he still reading. The fact that he would have liked to have done some reading means that he wishes he had, but he hasn't (either in the past or the present).

"I would have liked to have done some reading while I was on holiday, but I didn't have any books".

You don't "have some reading". You read, you read something, you do some reading, or you have some reading material/books.

2) ' I would like to ' or ' I would liked to' ( any difference )?

I would liked to = does not exist.
I would have liked to = present perfect of I would like to

Please note that there is no present simple of "I would like to..."

"I would like to..." is almost the same as "I wish I could...". You can use "I wish in the present (I wish), past simple (I wished), present perfect (I have wished) and past perfect (I had wished).
Click to expand...

See above.
 
Could you pls explain:

1) You had never thought she would have had the confidence to do that.
....You had never thought she had the confidence to do that.
....( what is the difference? )

2) I had wanted to buy a car. ( he wished to?)

Thanks!
 
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