The business dinner we had had had had a positive impact on our relationship. Is this correct?

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  • Actually there is no need for the comma as the clause ‘we had had’ is a defining reduced adjective clause. The dinner [we had had] had had an impact on our relationship. However, you can place the reduced adjective clause between two commas: The business dinner, we had had, had had a positive impact on our relationship. If you place one comma only, the sentence will be incorrect. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

  • Sounds strange. There are too many hads, I would simply restructure and punctuate the sentence. The business dinner we had, had a positive impact on our relationship.

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  • EnglishtutorHan
    EnglishtutorHanCountry flag: us
    ESL Tutor

    Awkward but sounds strange because you're missing a comma. If you place a comma after the second had, then the sentence is reported speech but everything is in the past perfect - all of the action is complete way before the simple past (what I call the far/remote past). So the sentence should read: "The business dinner we had had, had had a positive impact on our relationship."

  • The correct answer is "The business dinner we had had a positive impact on our relationship.

  • Too many hads.

  • I wouldn't say it's incorrect but it's a bit awkward with "had" three times in a row! I would just change the order around to say "We had had a business dinner that had a positive impact on our relationship" so it sounds smoother.

  • The business dinner we had, had a positive impact on our relationship.

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