What did you say?

[Mike047]

Language is a fascinating subject, and English is a tangled and sometimes mangled version of it.

 

Just to throw something obscure in - a sentence in any language should always make sense, but sometimes it requires a bit of understanding to get the whole point of what is being said, or written. For example, putting the word 'Had' consecutively, into a sentence and giving it meaning. Would you believe that it could be placed into a sentence 17 times consecutively?

 

This is how it might go, with an introduction to give it context:

 

A teacher, in a language lesson, has proposed the way the word 'HAD' can be used. It was put to two students, John and James, that a particular builder had a specific opinion about how to correctly solve a challenging job. The builder gave a detailed opinion that could solve the problem, but it was ignored. The teacher then asked John and James, "if you were writing this up, how many times could the word 'HAD' be consecutively used to explain it" The teacher added that marks would be awarded for the best answer. So, here goes:

 

John said  “The opinion he had had had no effect“, whereas James said “The opinion he had had had had no effect“. Who did the teacher award the grade for best answer to?

 

So, then, John, where James had had ‘ had had had had’, had had ‘had had had’, ‘had had had had’, had had the teacher's approval.

 

I'm sure there must be others

[Sheep]

That's easy for you to say.

 

(Are you sure you counted right?)

[Mike047]

Yep