'Nother grammar question

[TarnishedPenny]

Sorry to be a bother, but which is correct?

...had lost much of such little freedom as she had had.

or

...had lost much of such little freedom she had had.

Shouldn't have slept through Grade Four.

 

[WrongFrog]

I would remove such and replace it with the and replace the double had with she'd had.

Without context I can't really restructure it correctly.

 

[Cagivagurl]

..had lost much of what little freedom she had experienced.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Sorry to be a bother, but which is correct?

...had lost much of such little freedom as she had had.

or

...had lost much of such little freedom she had had.

Shouldn't have slept through Grade Four.

It reads a bit awkward both ways. How about ...had lost much of what little freedom she had.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

..had lost much of what little freedom she had experienced.

Great minds, and all that...

 

[AwkwardlySet]

"Such" really hurts the ear. Maybe "so little freedom?"
Also, without the context, it's hard to tell but should past perfect be used for both verbs? Shouldn't it be simple past in the first and past perfect in the second?
I realize this is totally not what you asked for, but I couldn't help myself

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Thank you. I will think - or try to.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Sorry to be a bother, but which is correct?

...had lost much of such little freedom as she had had.

or

...had lost much of such little freedom she had had.

Shouldn't have slept through Grade Four.

I'd write "...had lost much of the little freedom she'd had."

Might not be grammatically pure, but gets rid of the (to my ear) unnecessary had had repetition and the much such rhyme. Much and such also seem to be in opposition to each other, in my mind.

 

[jaF0]

...had lost much of what little freedom she once had.

 

[XerXesXu]

... she lost much of the little freedom she had.

You need to manage the tenses as you approach that phrase.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Tbh If I am ever presented with a situation I’m using a word like that twice, even if its correct, I’ll just re-write the sentence to avoid it.

 

[Carnevil9]

I agree: what little, not such little.

 

[SimonDoom]

Sorry to be a bother, but which is correct?

...had lost much of such little freedom as she had had.

I think this one is "correct," but I don't much care for it. It sounds stilted. Too many "hads." My recommendation would be to go in a different direction and find a different way to express the thought.

I think Cagivagurl is on the right track but I might replace "experienced" with "enjoyed" because it conveys a more emotional attachment to the concept of freedom. "Experienced" is a bland, neutral word.

 

[MetaBob]

... she lost much of the little freedom she had.

You need to manage the tenses as you approach that phrase.

That's better than the other suggestions I see here, but loses sense of her past. Better still might be:

... lost much of what freedom she once had.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Threads like this one feel like dangling heroin before addicts.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

...had lost much of such little freedom that she had had.

 

[TheLobster]

She lost so much of what little freedom she had.

At least that's what sounds best to my ESL brain.

 

[nice90sguy]

The eleven "had"s:

Ms Grammanazzi, the kindergarten teacher, marks two kids' work:

John ended his story, "I had a good time". But Jane wrote "I had had a good time."

Ms Grammanazzi prefferred Jane's ending,

Jane, where John had had "had", had had "had had". "Had had" had had more marks from the teacher.

 

[Plathfan]

As a nonbeliever, it's doubtful whether she ever had any freedom or free will.

 

[ElectricBlue]

As a nonbeliever, it's doubtful whether she ever had any freedom or free will.

Please don't air your religious views here. That's no different to politics (which the AH doesn't allow), and I think you're being provocative. Talk about writing, sure, but please, don't deliberately stir the pot.

 

[TheLobster]

Agree. Don’t bring trivialities such as religion, philosophy, or the meaning of life, to a thread that’s about the most important thing of all.

Proper. Grammar.

 

[MiaBabe23]

Using the past perfect ‘had had’ is qualitatively different from present pp of ‘had’, so grammatically is fine if that differentiation is needed, and if it fits your style.
I’m undecided whether I like the ‘such’ or find it jarring, would probably need to see the surrounding paragraph; but it is perhaps a bit distracting.

 

[MiaBabe23]

And I enjoyed the comment about free will; what are words for, if not to discuss ideas. The only thing distracting from the grammar focus are comments about a comment that some people didn’t want to see…

 

[MiaBabe23]

And I enjoyed the comment about free will; what are words for, if not to discuss ideas. The only thing distracting from the grammar focus are comments about a comment that some people didn’t want to see…

And ouch! Can’t believe I committed a grammar foul in there myself… * smh *

 

[Plathfan]

Please don't air your religious views here. That's no different to politics (which the AH doesn't allow), and I think you're being provocative. Talk about writing, sure, but please, don't deliberately stir the pot.

Gosh, you're heavy. There are butterflies and a sunny day outside. You're taking social media way too seriously.