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Is this sentence correct?

Which solution we have planned?

OR

Which solution did we have planned?

OR

Which solution did we plan?

I'm discussing about a technical issue and my question is just a way to start discussing the solution we have planned.

Thanks, Duilio

Nonnal
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DP78
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  • 'Which solution we have planned?' is a sentence fragment, not a complete sentence. It could be used after say 'Can you speak to the others about the solution we have planned?' It needs prior licensing context. // I'm not happy about pairing 'which' with 'solution'; it seems to guarantee that all the possibilities are bound to work. 'What is our planned solution' is often used as a short form of 'What is the plan we came up with that we hope will solve the problem?' – Edwin Ashworth Nov 16 '15 at 23:15
  • If your (personal) question is just a way to start discussing the solution you (collectively) have planned, surely that implies you know which one you planned. Why would you ask which it was, when you must already know what you've planned? I can only suppose you mean Which solution did you* plan? [which I may be involved in implementing]* – FumbleFingers Nov 16 '15 at 23:49
  • @EdwinAshworth There can be multiple possible "solutions." For an equation, that's just the way it is. For a real world problem, the goal may then be to determine the best solution. "Solution" is also used to mean "product," for example in software marketing. – Matt Samuel Nov 17 '15 at 00:01
  • @Matt Samuel You don't know it's a solution until you've implemented it and it's worked. *'Which solution have we planned?' is totally different from 'Which solution did you find most elegant.' As I said, imprecise language is sometimes acceptable, but I find 'Which solution have we planned?' ludicrous. / If OP intends the rather marginal usage of 'solution', which I greatly doubt, they should make that clear. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 17 '15 at 00:13

1 Answers1

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Number one is syntactically weak. Better is "Which solution have we planned?" This puts it in the present tense--the plan was created in the past but is still operational in the present. Number two is grammatically and syntactically correct to express the past progressive (aka continuous, imperfect) tense. The second sentence suggests that a solution had been planned at one point, but is no longer needed. The third is also correct, and is in the simple past. The third suggests a desire to know about what has been planned in the past, which may or may not be currently operational. So which to use is a matter of when something was planned and whether that planning still affects the present or not.