Now incorporating The Sudbury Hill Harrow and Wherever End Times

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Tips for writers: Had you not better had?

As somebody had already said that the word "had" had better not be overused as it had only proved necessary on infrequent occasions, I had thought of not bothering with this tip till I had started this text and had gone this far already. The pluperfect is less than perfect when it infests most of the first page of many texts submitted. I had already come to this conclusion but had never moaned about it till now. In short, it drives me mad. Or it had, had I not always had the ability to escape by closing the page.

2 comments:

Vanessa Gebbie said...

Did you know there's this sentence with eleven of the things, in a straight line? Thusly:

John, where James had had 'had', had had 'had had'. 'Had had' had had the teacher's approval.

Ta da!

Ossian said...

Brilliant. :)