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zander7990
Joined: 28 Oct 2003
Posts: 65
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 Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:43 am Post subject: have, had, had had |
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hello. can someone tell me the differences between these sentences.
was confused when my student asked me...
i have studied english.
i had studied english.
i have been studying english.
i had had a car.
very confusing.
help. |
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Willy_In_Japan
Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Posts: 329
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 8:15 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
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hello. can someone tell me the differences between these sentences.
was confused when my student asked me...
i have studied english.
i had studied english.
i have been studying english.
i had had a car.
very confusing.
help.
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I'm no grammar expert. So, I am not going to bother assigning grammar labels. However, just regarding meaning, I think that "I have studied english" means that it is something you have done and completed. "I had studied english" implies to me that you had done it in the past but no longer do. "I have been studying english" is something that you started doing recently and are still doing it.
I am not sure that one could say "I had had a car." as a complete sentence. How about "I had had a car for a long time before I got in an accident"? Past tense of 'having' something. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 8:44 am Post subject: |
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Is this a wind-up? I mean, really...
HAVE = perfect tense. A fundamental aspect of English grammar. You do own an English grammar? Yes? |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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present perfect
past perfect
present perfect continuous
past. Willy is right, the sentence you gave is a fragment. His explanations were good too.
Not really all that confusing. |
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guest of Japan
Joined: 28 Feb 2003
Posts: 1601
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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| My only point of contention is that "I have studied English" doesn't necessarily imply completion. The simple tense sentence "I studied English" would. "I have studied English' (by itself) may signal completion as well as emphasis on something done. "I have studied English for ten years' means I am still studying, where as "I studied English for ten years" means you are done. "I had studied English for ten years" leaves me waiting for additional information, though based on context it might not necessarily be a fragment. |
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crazyteacher
Joined: 28 Sep 2004
Posts: 34
Location: Tokyo
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| Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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"i have studied english.
i had studied english.
i have been studying english.
i had had a car.
very confusing.
help."
OK I`ll explain,
"I have studied english" means you have studied english
"i had studied english" means you didnt study english cuz if you did you woulda said so.
"i have been studying english" This is an idiom. We just say it like this.
"i had had a car" Stop stutterin!
You need any more help you just post it right here. I`ll teach ya all about it. |
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canuck
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 1921
Location: Japan
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King of Babylon
Joined: 09 Oct 2004
Posts: 24
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:54 am Post subject: |
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I'm not sure if saying 'had had' is correct in English, but if it is it would be the pluperfect. 'Had done' is also pluperfect.
It is used when you are talking about a point in time in the past before a more recent point in time in the past. At that particular time in the past, you already had (or did) something. You might have had it all the way up to now, but the fact that you had it already at that particular time is what is significant. |
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Sheep-Goats
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 527
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 9:51 am Post subject: |
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| King of Babylon wrote: |
I'm not sure if saying 'had had' is correct in English, but if it is it would be the pluperfect. 'Had done' is also pluperfect.
It is used when you are talking about a point in time in the past before a more recent point in time in the past. At that particular time in the past, you already had (or did) something. You might have had it all the way up to now, but the fact that you had it already at that particular time is what is significant. |
Sttrictly speaking, the pluperfect is a Latin tense, not an English one. But the meaning of this sentence is coordinate with the Latin pluperfect -- so I can't really object to you calling it this.
The "had had" thing is usually labeled as past tense these days -- has been twice in this thread already. |
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