Learn English – Is “had had” correct here

past-perfecttensesverbs

In the following passage, I am (for now) using "…had had…" (bolded below for easier findability).

Is my usage that way correct? I'm not using a single "had" because it was a temporary name for his father.

YOUNG MAN AFRAID OF HIS HORSES

Living from 1836 to 1893, Sioux chief Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses, was far from being a shrinking violet as one might surmise from his name. Young Man-Afraid-of-his-Horses took part in Red Cloud's War, acted as a negotiator for the Sioux after the Wounded Knee Massacre, and served as ambassador for his people during forays to Washington, DC.

It should be noted that the accurate translation of his name is really “His horse is feared” or “They fear his horse,” meaning that even the sight of his horse elicited trepidation in his enemies, not that he himself feared his steed.

It is interesting, too, that his father had had the same name; when the “Young Man” discussed here became chief and took that name, his father then became “Old Man Afraid of His Horses” – somewhat like a “Sr.” and “Jr.” father-son relationship.

Best Answer

Yep. The two hads here are serving different purposes.

The first one tells you when the thing happened, the second tells you what happened. An easy way to see this is to change the second had to a blank and then fill in that blank with some other verb, as in:

It is interesting, too, that his father had used / gone by / been given the same name

had had is a pretty common construction. That said, I'd agree it sounds weird, and I doubt your confusion about whether it's grammatical is uncommon, which is one reason I avoid it wherever possible. I've never found a situation where it couldn't be replaced with something that flowed better conversationally.

Related Topic