What horror have I unleashed! Oh, the humanity!


-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Brad Johnston
Sent: Mon 4/14/2008 9:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A punctuation challenge
 
rbetting <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
   
  Brad had had had on his mind.
   
  Brad replies: Brad had had had had had had had had had had had had on his mind.
   
  Translation: Brad had Dick Veit's eleven 'had's on his mind. Pick your own number.
   
  Ruling: no points. No doff of tweed cap.
   
  ~~~~~~~~~~~
   
    "O'Sullivan, Brian P" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
   
  "Even before Brad joined the listserv, he had had "had" on the brain."

:) Brian.
   
  Brad replies: Inadmissible bad grammar: "Even before Brad joined the listserv, he had "had" on the brain", is correct. "Had" is the past tense of "to have", not "had had".
   
  Ruling: Two 'had's doth not a winner make. Points for a good try but no cap doff.
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~
   
  To make a reasonable contest, we should probably require that the example be something taken from real life, as opposed to something concocted in the contestant's imagination.
   
  Does that sound fair? Nah, that's too restrictive. Go ahead and make something up.
   
  .brad.14apr08.
    From: Brad Johnston 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 
  Subject: Re: A punctuation challenge
  

  I will take my hat off to anyone who can come up with a legitimate three-'had's-in-a-row.
     
  .brad.sun.13apr08.




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