When and how do you use "have had" and "had had"?

Question

in proper writing ..

Answer 1

Always have had

Answer 2

It's either "have had" or "did have" never "had had"

Examples

  I have had a dog.

  I did have a dog.



  I had had a dog. (makes no sense)

Answer 3

i have had a good day.

i had had a cough

Answer 4

I "have had" to go to the store several times before.

If I "had had" more time.

Answer 5

I have always had problems doing math.

You've had problems in the past and still do.

I had always had problems doing math.

You've had problems in the past but solved them and can now do math.

Answer 6

You use had had as the past perfect.  Have had is unnecessary  because you can just say I had such and such.  People these days are always adding helping verbs where they are not needed and throwing in the word like for no reason at all.  Drives me nuts.

Answer 7

We typically use "have" as a main verb with an object to talk about common actions.  We use the "present" perfect tense when we want to connect the present with the (recent) past in some way and this will appear as has had or have had in full forms or as 's had or 've had in contracted forms:

-  Have they had their breakfast yet?  They've had a glass of orange juice, but they haven't had anything to eat yet.

-  Have you always had hay fever?  I've had it every summer since I was 13.

-  Have you had a nice evening?  I've had a great evening.

"Had had" is the "past" perfect form of have when it is used as a main verb to describe our experiences and actions. We use the "past perfect" when we are talking about the past and want to refer back to an earlier past time.  Note the use of "before", "after", "by the time" and "already" as a trigger for the past perfect.  Note also that the contracted form of had had is 'd had:

-  She'd had a lot to drink and wasn't capable of walking home by herself.

-  She sacked him before he had had a chance to explain his behavior.

-  After he'd had a good night's sleep, he felt much better.

-  By the time he was twenty he'd already had four different jobs.

Note:  Past perfect forms are a feature of if-clauses in the third type of conditional sentence when we are explaining past actions or regretting past inaction. Thus, had had is likely to appear in this construction:



-  If I hadn't had a good education, I would never have got this job.

-  If she had had children later in life, she would have been a better mother.

-  If I'd had another ten minutes, I would've finished the examination paper.