WORD GAME: Can You Properly Punctuate This Sentence?

McKayMachina
McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
edited October 2024 in Chit-Chat
James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher

* * *

NO GOOGLING. Every time you cheat, a kitten ODs on catnip and gets a really gnarly tummy-ache!

Replies

  • Snakey74
    Snakey74 Posts: 276 Member
    *head blows up*
    :noway:
    I really need more sleep before I read these types of things.
  • mommared53
    mommared53 Posts: 9,543 Member
    James, while John, had had had had had had had had had had, had a better effect on the teacher.


    :huh: :bigsmile: :frown: :ohwell: :noway: :grumble: :tongue: I'm confused!
  • purplebabe2025
    purplebabe2025 Posts: 383 Member
    I'm gonna wait until I'm a bit inebriated to answer this!!!
  • xtinalovexo
    xtinalovexo Posts: 1,376 Member
    I'm gonna wait until I'm a bit inebriated to answer this!!!

    i'm already there, but i am confused.

    James and John and the teacher did what?
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    I'm 100% sober, and usually pretty good at grammar, but wtf?! :noway:
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    Had to Google it, so I won't post the answer. You really need the back story to do it though! Pretty wild.
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
    James, while John had had had, had had had, had had a good effect on the teacher?

    This only works in my mind if a couple of those "had's" is a noun rather than a past tense verb.

    James had had HAD.

    Where "HAD" means "measeles" or "a piece of cake" or "a sexy girl named Had"

    yeah. I got nothin'.
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    Okay, SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    SPOILER ALERT!!!

    "James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher" is an English sentence used to demonstrate lexical ambiguity and the necessity of punctuation, which serves as a substitute for the intonation, stress and pauses found in human speech. In human information processing research, the sentence has been used to show how readers depend on punctuation to give sentences meaning, especially in the context of scanning across lines of text.

    It refers to two students, James and John, and their answers to an English test, concerning a man who, in the past, had a cold:

    John wrote "The man had a cold" which is incorrect grammatically,

    James wrote "The man had had a cold" which is correct grammatically.

    Since James' answer was right, it had had a better effect on the teacher, thus the sentence.

    The sentence can be understood more clearly by adding punctuation and quotation marks:

    ******************************************************************************************************************
    - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER - ANSWER -
    ******************************************************************************************************************

    James, while John had had "had", had had "had had"; "had had" had had a better effect on the teacher.

    ******************************************************************************************************************

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :drinker:
  • lisaisso
    lisaisso Posts: 337 Member
    OMG! that is craziness. i would have never got this.
    i consider myself a grammar geek, but always made fun of people on judge judy or maury when they say,"what had happened was..." :brokenheart:
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
    Okay, Googled it, and I agree vehemently that some context should be given in order for anyone to even have a hope of decoding it. But it's not my game, so I will leave it to the original poster to decide to give the back story to the sentence or not.
  • ket_the_jet
    ket_the_jet Posts: 1,257 Member
    Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

    Cheers.
    -wtk
  • SmartFunGorgeous
    SmartFunGorgeous Posts: 699 Member
    <--English teacher... and I love this thread. :heart:
  • babygurl48
    babygurl48 Posts: 1,237 Member
    I'm gonna wait until I'm a bit inebriated to answer this!!!

    bahahaha!!! I agree!! I'm with u!!!
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

    Cheers.
    -wtk

    That one always loses me!
  • ket_the_jet
    ket_the_jet Posts: 1,257 Member
    New York bison [that] New York bison bully, bully New York bison.
    -wtk
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    New York bison [that] New York bison bully, bully New York bison.
    -wtk

    I finally get it!!! Thank youuu! :drinker:
  • purplebabe2025
    purplebabe2025 Posts: 383 Member
    Inebriated.
    WTF!!!
    Guys. We gotta talk.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories