Which of these is correct and why?
- Had not you seen this movie before?
- Had you not seen this movie before?
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what about "didn't you watch/see this movie before"? any other tense sounds... I don't know, medieval? – David Haim Jul 08 '20 at 17:03
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But is either of the above right/ wrong? – A__ Jul 08 '20 at 17:11
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1In real life, it would probably be just "Hadn't you seen ..". those two examples sound extremely archaic at best. – David Haim Jul 08 '20 at 17:22
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The "had" tense is fine if the parties have just watched the movie in question. – Weather Vane Jul 08 '20 at 17:31
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They are both grammatical; however, the first version is not normal. It's both archaic and poetic. The second version, while not as common as other ways of writing it, is at least modern—and fine in certain contexts. – Jason Bassford Jul 08 '20 at 22:19