Had you had asked

Question

Let's say in this scenario:

Someone asked me for help to do certain thing. I gave a negative response. That person then asked for the reason. I responded with:

"Had you had asked me nicely ...."

What I meant to say was "If you had/have asked me nicely ..."

Question: Does the former have the same meaning as the later?

Edit: Just to make sure there are not any differences: My response was a statement, not a question to that person.

You must say: "Had you asked me nicely ...", without the second had. It has the same meaning as "If you had asked me nicely ...". In Present-day English this inversion is only permitted with past-form auxiliaries and modals, and in practice is largely restricted to had, were* and should. — StoneyB on hiatus, Mar 07 '14 at 13:55

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 07 '14 at 13:58

3

"Had you had asked me nicely ...."

is incorrect. It should be EITHER:

If you had asked me nicely...

OR

Had you asked me nicely...

which both mean the same thing.

answered Mar 07 '14 at 13:58

Digital Chris

1 Answers1