Question

How is this sentence grammatically correct? "The war was still going on, although by this time it appeared that many of the islanders had had enough". I've used had had before but I can'y explain why it's correct.

Answer 1

can't*

Answer 2

The phrase, "had had" implies a double pre-ownership. This simply means that at one point in time, the subject (in this case, the islanders) used to have previously had enough. For example, if a few months ago I got really drunk, I might say, "I had had too much to drink." because while it was valid then, it no longer is now. Do you get it?

Answer 3

Yes, thank you very much.