8

I commonly come across sentences where I have to write the same word twice such as,

This is what I've been looking for for a long time.

and in these cases I just try to rewrite the sentence to avoid this.

  1. Is it OK to write sentences like these?
  2. How do you properly write these types of sentences?
RegDwigнt
  • 97,231
DustinDavis
  • 700
  • 1
    what about inserting a comma between the two for(s) – bubble Jul 18 '11 at 10:00
  • The sentences are not really improper in the first place. If you work on your writing, you will see other ways of writing the same sentences. Follow the ELL Q&A http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/41665/english-language-learners?referrer=Flyp9GdUZG08GxFV_g6lKw2 – Kris Nov 03 '12 at 15:34
  • You *could* write it "This is what I've been looking for² a long time", but it's not proper. – Peter Shor Nov 03 '12 at 17:10

3 Answers3

8
  1. It is okay, but can be potentially confusing/surprising for some people.
  2. In this particular sentence, you can do "I've been looking for this for a long time" or "For a long time, this is what I've been looking for".
RegDwigнt
  • 97,231
Lie Ryan
  • 834
4

This sort of thing is surprisingly common in English.

I couldn't decide if I had had a good time.

This is what I've been looking for for a long time. (Your original example.)

There's nothing wrong with these sentences, and they aren't grammatically incorrect. However, some people do find them infelicitous or awkward-sounding, so a simple rewording often fixes the problem.

I couldn't decide whether I really had a good time.

I've been looking for this for a long time.

You don't have to do this, but you can if you think it sounds better.

Community
  • 1
JSBձոգչ
  • 54,843
  • 1
    It doesn't satisfy me, I found a huge difference between "I've been looking for this for a long time" and "This is what I've been looking for for a long time". maybe cause of the sentence structure: "this is exactly what ...". –  May 26 '11 at 15:56
  • @Boob, how about "For a long time, this is what I've been looking for"? (See http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/27152/how-to-properly-write-sentence-with-double-words/27153#27153) Of course, now that's ending a sentence with a preposition, but I assume no one here has any qualms with that... – Ben Hocking May 26 '11 at 16:15
  • 1
    @Ben What's a preposition? :) – DustinDavis May 26 '11 at 16:33
  • @DustinDavis a thing you shouldn't end a sentence with! It's an old grammer idea that you should't end a sentence with a preposition because it normally describes something about the following word. But that is pretty much abandoned (like not starting a sentence with but) – mgb May 26 '11 at 18:02
  • A fishery can can sardines, and may may flower as early as April, but to be honest most speakers would avoid such constructions - on grounds of elegance, not grammar. – FumbleFingers Jul 12 '12 at 00:44
  • @Fum Agree, probably, in those cases, unless we intend some effect. But in speech, I think something like Come over! You can can peaches with us seems like it might occur naturally enough and not necessarily be something that people try to avoid, or something the hearer would notice, especially given the phonology. BTW, how limber are you? If you can can-can, can you come can-can with me? – Jim Reynolds Sep 04 '19 at 06:08
0

When i read a sentence like this, i put a comma between the 2 for's, in my head. I pause a little after the first for, or change the tone.

So why not do this for the reader? Write the sentence as "This is what I've been looking for, for a long a time".

Not that the sentence as it is, is grammatically incorrect. ;-)

insanity
  • 785