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Had vs had had

Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension
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Had vs had had

by towerSpider » Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:16 am
1. They wanted
me to include
references, but I didn't want to list
my previous landlord because I
Had had some
problems with him in the past and I
knew he wouldn't recommend me.

2. They wanted
me to include
references, but I didn't want to list
my previous landlord because I
Had some
problems with him in the past and I
knew he wouldn't recommend me.

Hello. Which one of them is correct and why? I know we use "had" when we are refering to some event that happened before some other event that is already under discussion, but still use of "had" looks more appropriate. I think this rule does not apply. Your take? Thanks.
People are not prisoners of fate, but prisoners of their own mind.
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by Superduperstudent » Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:55 pm
1. They wanted me to include references, but I didn't want to list my previous landlord because I had had some problems with him in the past and I knew he wouldn't recommend me.
Hi towerSpider,

The correct tense here is "had had," as it describes an event that happened BEFORE another event that is in the past.

You are right that "had" sounds OK too, and it COULD have been correct if the phrase "in the past" hadn't been there. If you instead said "because I had some problems with him and I knew..." then those problems would be understood to have been occurring at the same time as or still be ongoing when "they wanted me to include references."

Since the problems did NOT occur at the same time as the request for references, but they actually occurred "in the past" relative to that point in time, i.e. BEFORE the request for references, the past perfect ("had had") is the way to go.

Here's a time line:
--------past perfect--------------------------simple past-----------------------present------------------
------problems with landlord---------request for references----------telling about the issue-------
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by towerSpider » Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:48 pm
Thats the problem. In official version, only "had" is used.
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by Superduperstudent » Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:24 am
Thats the problem. In official version, only "had" is used.
Hi TowerSpider,

I'm afraid I must have misunderstood your question then. I responded to
Which one of them is correct and why?
If you have a different question, I'm happy to address it!
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by kapilhede17 » Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:42 am
Can some 1 please show me where HAD HAD is preferred over HAD ..
Thanks
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by KapTeacherEli » Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:03 pm
kapilhede17 wrote:Can some 1 please show me where HAD HAD is preferred over HAD ..
Thanks
Hi kapil,

"had had" is the past perfect of "to have," to we need a case where the past perfect is necessary. That means, we want "to have" something, but that action has to be the earlier of two past actions. So,

"My girlfriend made me pizza for dinner, but I had had pizza for lunch, so I didn't enjoy it. I feel terrible!"

Here, the speaker describes two actions. Both dinner and lunch are in the past, but the lunch is earlier in the past. So, the "had had" is correct--although "had eaten" or "had bought" might be less awkward!
Eli Meyer
Kaplan GMAT Teacher
Cambridge, MA
www.kaptest.com/gmat

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