# grammar: the "had" conundrum **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2002, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481 "2002-11-29T10:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/1 "2002-11-29T10:26:38Z")
I don’t know how to phrase the search query for this, so if the answer is hidden in the meltdown archives I apologise. So, once upon a time I read a sentence with innumerable consecutive "had"s and, now, I have no idea what the sentence was, or the maximum number of hads. Calling all English teachers! Help! Else, I shall go nucking futs. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/2 "2002-11-29T10:46:25Z")
[Google gives me 1440 hits](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22had+had+had%22) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/3 "2002-11-29T10:48:00Z")
Type this into Google: “had had had”. Be sure to use quotation marks. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/4 "2002-11-29T10:49:21Z")
John while Jill had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher. ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/5 "2002-11-29T10:55:17Z")
yeh, I shoulda done the obvious and googled " had had had " instead of my clumsy phraseology. thanks ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/6 "2002-11-29T13:19:07Z")
I used to give this as a sort of bonus question to my students (they had to punctuate it correctly). Surprisingly, every time I did, someone got it correct. ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/7 "2002-11-30T13:46:11Z")
flano1, Here’s another sentence that plays on the same sort of ambiguity: buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo. It doesn’t so much need punctuation as much as proper capitalisation. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/8 "2002-11-30T14:01:56Z")
How on _earth_ does the buffalo thing work? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/9 "2002-11-30T14:25:30Z")
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo. ([That’s with 9](http://rec-puzzles.org/new/sol.pl/language/english/sentences/repeated.words).) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/10 "2002-11-30T16:05:05Z")
Ah. Since I have never heard “buffalo” used to mean baffle, this explains why I was buffaloed. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grammar-the-had-conundrum/139481/11 "2002-11-30T22:43:21Z")
[tangent]In discussing the complexity of nesting, I was once given this sentence: The salesman the woman the shoe fit hit quit. No punctuation necessary. [/tangent]