🤨 Had x 4

#073

Jack Ellis
March 02, 2025

You already know English is great. That’s why you read this every week.

But one of the reasons it’s great is because you can say sentences such as the following:

“The success that he had had had had little effect on him.”

One sentence, four “hads”. Beautiful… or perhaps not.

It reads much better with a comma:

“The success that he had had, had had little effect on him.”

In Spanish:

“El éxito que había tenido, había tenido poco efecto en él.”

Knowing you could write “had” four times in a row is one thing.

Pronouncing it another well is another. Take a moment and have a go.

Click below if you want to hear how it’s pronounced.

Your teachers might make you pronounce it in class this week, so be prepared.

If they want to make you suffer they will make you say:

“James, while John had had 'had,’ had had

'had had'; 'had had' had had a better effect on the teacher.”

That’s 11. Apparently the record is 15, but im not going there.

I’ll leave you all to contemplate this:

❝

That that is, is. That is not is not, is that it?

Shakespeare (maybe)

Until next week.

It can be difficult to understand when words repeat

This week’s three tips:

SOMETHING TO AVOID 🫣

🤦🏻‍♀️ “If I have had time…”

When saying a past conditional be sure to say, if I had + past participle.

If I had had time

Have + past participle doesn’t work.

✅ “If I’d had time…”

But the real trick is to say had with a contraction. It makes it much easier to say.

If I’d known…

If I’d seen…

SOMETHING TO SOUND CONFIDENT 🧐

👔 Business expressions

“Thought leader”

A thought leader or influencer is someone who, based on their expertise and perspective in an industry, is a trusted source, offers unique guidance, and inspires innovation. Thought leaders are informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise.

As a result of her success and experience, Sarah had become a though leader

SOMETHING TO WATCH 👀

The ethical dilemma of self-driving cars

Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can't completely avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it encounters an unavoidable accident? Patrick Lin navigates the murky ethics of self-driving cars.

www.ted.com/talks/patrick_lin_the_ethical_dilemma_of_self_driving_cars

Write to us with who you would save and why.

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