Haves and have-nots
So how do you punctuate the following sentence to make it sensible (although admitedly still not the most beautiful sentence of English!):
James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher
Here’s the answer:
James, while John had had “had”, had had “had had”; “had had” had had a better effect on the teacher.
The meaning? “It was the case that while John used ‘had,’ James used ‘had had.’ The teacher preferred ‘had had.'”
And while we are on this subject, here’s another “stuttering” sentence:
the gaps between fish and and and and and chips are unequal
The answer: an observer describes a “Fish and Chips” sign pointing out that the words in the sign are not evenly spaced:
The gaps between ‘Fish’ and ‘and’ and ‘and’ and ‘chips’ are unequal.
Have fun!