Language Overflow

M.A.R.

05:05

> The last message was posted 9 hours ago.

Never thought I'd see it again in this room

M.A.R.

05:37

New profile pic

Hullo @Man!

Hi @Violette

user178049

05:55

@M.A.R. Looks like my grandfather.

M.A.R.

Wow, I never knew so many people didn't know about Breaking Bad

M.A.R.

06:09

ELL HNQ is perfectly crappy. Everything is fine.

user178049

I had to Google it. Lol.

M.A.R.

06:21

@user178049 Google what?

user178049

06:38

@M.A.R. Breaking Bad

M.A.R.

Wow

I can't believe this

skull petrol

Breaking Bad is not that popular.

It's the old Scarface theme played over again.

M.A.R.

07:22

That doesn't make it any less popular

skull petrol

True, but it gets boring after awhile for most of us.

M.A.R.

!!flip/skullpetrol

Ellbot

(∿°○°)∿sʞnꞁꞁdǝʇɹoꞁ

skill patrol

!!flip/M.A.R.

Ellbot

(∿°○°)∿W˙Ɐ˙ᴚ˙

skill patrol

07:28

What happened to the R?

M.A.R.

My R? Well, that's the available Unicode char to use

Fawad

@Ellbot (゜o゜)

skill patrol

!!flip/R

Ellbot

(∿°○°)∿ᴚ

skill patrol

That^ R

M.A.R.

07:30

1 min ago, by M.A.R.

My R? Well, that's the available Unicode char to use

That's the natural size of the Unicode char

skill patrol

The flipped R looks smaller.

Fawad

Hi chat

M.A.R.

1 min ago, by M.A.R.

That's the natural size of the Unicode char

@Fawad Hey

skill patrol

Hi pal @Fawad

M.A.R.

@skillpatrol Hi pal, or hi @Fawad?

skill patrol

07:35

Both.

Fawad = pal

pal = Fawad

skull petrol

By the reflexive property of equality :-)

Fawad

Whoa,2 accounts open at same time

skull petrol

;-)

M.A.R.

08:28

-1

Q: Enjoyable or enjoyous

I've got one sentence and I am not sure about correct form of enjoy. Here is it: One of my most enjoyable hobbies is playing a musical instrument. Should there be enjoyable or enjoyous? If enjoyous then could you provide an explanation? Thanks for answers!

sentence-construction

Enjoyous. Holy crap

Damkerng T.

08:46

I wish that you be happy forever. — vickyace 9 hours ago

How often do we say something like that?

I'm not even sure if it's grammatical. And if it is, I think it sounds quite foreign.

user178049

@DamkerngT. If I correctly translate that in Malay. It sounds like a wish for a married couple.

Damkerng T.

@user178049 But the problem is, is this how we use wish in English?

(except for in the Bible, maybe)

When we say I wish you were here, it means "you're not here", right?

skull petrol

Yes.

Damkerng T.

So, when we say I wish you be happy forever, does it mean you're happy or you're not? :P

skull petrol

09:01

Well, forever is a long time.

Damkerng T.

nods

skull petrol

Perhaps, I wish that you will be happy forever, sounds better to me.

Damkerng T.

It sounds much better to me too!

skull petrol

nods

Damkerng T.

But maybe I wish you happiness forever is even better.

skull petrol

09:04

You got it pal.

Less words too.

Damkerng T.

nods

Ahh... the user ell.stackexchange.com/users/7965/vickyace is doing rather well on EL&U, but his top network posts seem to be all about words and phrases. None is about grammar.

Words and phrases in a second language are easier to pick up, I think.

skull petrol

I agree.

Grammar requires a deeper understanding.

Damkerng T.

nods -- It seems easy, but it's very hard!

skull petrol

Indeed and much more technical.

It has its own vocabulary etc.

Damkerng T.

Compared to a typical vocabulary size, the number of topics in grammar is much smaller, though.

skull petrol

09:14

nods

user178049

What about "I hope that you be happy forever:

Damkerng T.

I think it's fine, grammatically, but it seems to lose the intended meaning in the original.

skull petrol

I hope that you will be happy forever.

user178049

@DamkerngT. I think that wish takes 2 obj, I'll consult a dictionary.

skull petrol

I'm hoping that you'll be happy forever.

Damkerng T.

09:17

@user178049 nods -- In this sense of wish, it normally is wish someone something in standard English.

@skullpetrol I think hope is a bit different from this sense of wish. I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too much. :P

skull petrol

Yeah, I'm just throwing ideas out there :P

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. Are you sure?

Damkerng T.

@userr2684291 I hope you be ...? Yes, I think so.

It sounds somewhat archaic, though.

userr2684291

Hope doesn't seem to fall into the same category with demand, urge, etc.

Damkerng T.

Sure. I don't think it really works if we strict ourselves to standard English, either.

But with some sort of poetic license, maybe. :D

user178049

09:22

I think wish+that is more like a desire.

Damkerng T.

@user178049 nods -- the that-clause is typically a counter-factual one, though.

userr2684291

14

A: When should I use the subjunctive mood?

What is called the "subjunctive" or the "present subjunctive" is in fact just a simple untensed variant of normally tensed that-complement clauses. Unlike real subjunctive systems in languages like German or Spanish, this construction appears - only in subordinate complement clauses, never ...

Damkerng T.

Heh! He changed his avatar, again!

@userr2684291 Oh, you changed the answer! This one is not M.A.R.'s!

userr2684291

Yes, I simply linked to the original answer they're quoting.

user178049

@DamkerngT. Agree, feel sad that actually I've been using this verb "less" correcly.

userr2684291

09:25

@user178049 I'd been using want that way.

I think I weaned myself off it.

user178049

@userr2684291 Haha. I think there's an answer posted by Tromano about "want' and "hope". I just couldn't find it.

I remember when I was a student my teacher mark "I suggest he stop smoking" ungrammatical because stop should agree with "he".. too bad.

Damkerng T.

Teaching our second languages is very, very tough, if we want to be perfect, or near-perfect.

Unfortunately, through the eyes of beginners, 70% perfect and 99% perfect look the same.

userr2684291

@user178049 There's also a thing called covert mandative: They demand that the park remains open.

Thanks, Damkerng, heh.

user178049

09:41

@userr2684291 Thanks, that's new for me. I'll need to Google. But personally, I don't think "stop" here should be mark as an error. It's still fine.

userr2684291

@user178049 Oh, yes, incontrovertibly.

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it seems to be based on a misunderstanding of present continuous. — JavaLatte 17 mins ago

Huh.

Damkerng T.

Weird

userr2684291

I don't think nomenclature matters that much – although the question should be closed for a different reason.

Damkerng T.

nods

I don't think the question is based on that misunderstanding. It just shows that the OP doesn't know the term.

userr2684291

Yeah.

I meant to say "inaccuracy in nomenclature shouldn't prevent us from answering it if it satisfies other criteria". However, JavaLatte answered the question in their first comment, rendering it unsalvageable because the enquirer now knows the answer – pretending to still have doubts about it would simply be... chucklesome.

And someone agreed with the comment I linked above. (:

Damkerng T.

09:56

@userr2684291 Not me!

@userr2684291 Agreed

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. I know, haha.

Damkerng T.

Hehe!

0

Q: How should I understand "Delivery has been dispatched from change of destination office"?

The tracking system status is: Delivery has been dispatched from change of destination office How should I understand it? "Delivery" - staff that is delivered (parcel, package) "has been dispatched from change of" - ??? (so mane prepositions), is "dispatch" = "send" (but here is "dispatch...

prepositions understanding

Hmm...

Delivery has been dispatched from change of destination office -- Do we really use it?

userr2684291

I'm in the process of trying to wrap my head around that one as well.

Damkerng T.

It seems to come up a lot in eBay threads.

I don't know, but I don't think I've seen it before on eBay. But it could as well be that I haven't noticed it.

In any case, I think it sounds weird.

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. Google turns up what appear to be non-native attempts at English, melting away my further interest in the matter.

Damkerng T.

10:09

Ahh

I just browsed through some orders in my history. I found no such phrase. The above screenshot is more typical.

Maybe they meant "destination exchange office" by change of destination office.

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. What does that mean?

I'll give you China for France. ~ Deal.

I'm parsing it in the following manner: [destination exchange] office.

Damkerng T.

nods -- I think the same.

userr2684291

10:28

0

Q: Can anybody explain this paragraph for me, please?

Does it mean "Because millions of baby boomers are the main buyers of these old cars, and now they have financial problems leading to there will be fewer buyers for these ones"? OR "Because millions of baby boomers WERE the main buyers of these old cars, and now they have financial problems leadi...

meaning-in-context

Hm, I think their second explanation is closer to what I believe the article depicts as the current state of affairs — however, my interpretation is at odds with the enquirer's.

The headwinds the paragraph mentions refer to an uncertain health insurance landscape which affects the prospective buyers – in this case, baby boomers. Due to possible financial risks, they're not willing to contend the price, leading to its decrease.

Because we're talking about auctions, less contenders corresponds to overall lower final prices, innit?

Damkerng T.

10:48

@userr2684291 nods -- I read it more or less the same way.

@userr2684291 This makes sense, too.

M.A.R.

\o

Damkerng T.

o/

userr2684291

Well, actually, I just realized the first explanation they're offering works, but due to their putting emphasis on were in their second reasoning...

Damkerng T.

A new avatar again!

userr2684291

However, ugh... it's not a matter of are vs. were: baby boomers are natural buyers, but they might as well have been described as ex ones, because according to the article, they aren't anymore.

Damkerng T.

10:55

I think neither of their alternatives is right on the money.

M.A.R.

I figured if I choose a chemical avatar, it will be almost transparent anyway

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. Which part of my explanation do you disagree with?

Damkerng T.

@userr2684291 Huh? I didn't talk about yours. I talked about theirs.

userr2684291

Alright.

M.A.R.

So I chose something that looked something not invisible and still had a chemistry sense

Damkerng T.

10:56

@M.A.R. Now you look very toxic!

userr2684291

@M.A.R. It's not transparent anymore, now it's just White. :>

Hahah.

M.A.R.

!!flip/userr's puns

Ellbot

(۶ૈ‡▼益▼)۶nsǝɹɹ⅋#Ɛ6؛s dnus

userr2684291

!!flip '"“”‘’~`»≈«

Ellbot

!!!!|┛*｀Д´|┛・・~~┻━┻　┳━┳

userr2684291

10:59

Oh.

I'll post it as a comment and see how well it resonates with the rest of the community.

M.A.R.

Meh, if the poster of the comment isn't Fumble or one of the mods, they don't trust what you say that much

Not even Arau is that popular

userr2684291

@M.A.R. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

M.A.R.

Go get 'em tigerr

userr2684291

@M.A.R. Haha, nice.

user178049

11:29

ell.stackexchange.com/q/123772/35026 is this question too broad?

userr2684291

11:58

@user178049 In a manner. The answer is probably going to be: "It usually means that, but there're either no hard-and-fast rules, or there're too many rules."

M.A.R.

12:09

Kinda is, yeah

user178049

Yeah, it's rather arbitrary. I think the only way to be good at using the affixation is by watching English movies and reading books.

M.A.R.

13:26

LOL, someone reject this

7

A: "How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?"

"It takes x to y" is extremely common, and I'm surprised that you haven't met it before. It is certainly not confined to light-bulb jokes! It means "x is necessary in order to y." Here are some examples: It takes courage to do what you did. It takes a lot to rattle her. It takes at least a week ...

I mean the edit on it

Anonymous

13:40

Thanks for rejecting that :-)

Alex89

Hello to everyone. Nice to see you, snailplane.

And you, Catija. I'm glad to see you.

M.A.R.

Hullo all

Alex89

Hello, M.A.R. I see you changed your avatar.

M.A.R.

14:01

@Alex89 Yep

Alex89

My flags keep to be declined(( I feel sad. I would stop flagging for a time. But I wonder why is so, and in which case it is good to raise a flag. Thanks.

Fawad

@Alex89 in Very serious case

Alex89

I kind of understand it... but maybe someone provides an example.

userr2684291

@Alex89 Don't let that flag you down. :>

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 Get out

userr2684291

14:16

Behold, this chap completely exsanguinated some poor dictionary: ell.stackexchange.com/a/123781/3395

@M.A.R. I can't resist it, man.

M.A.R.

@Alex89 I think you can/should read the help center articles on flagging

And ask if you encountered any problems

Well, mods have indeed been inconsistent with handling comment flags, but I haven't been flagging any comments lately to see if that persists

userr2684291

@M.A.R. I always flag "Thanks!" type of comments. But I remember flagging a comment that just didn't seem appropriate for the site. Let me see if it's still there.

Alex89

I found the page about flagging: ell.stackexchange.com/help/privileges/flag-posts I'll read it.

M.A.R.

@Alex there's also Meta Stack Exchange which is full of resources to read. Don't ask though . . . It's a bit harsh to new users. Just search, and read.

userr2684291

ell.stackexchange.com/questions/115704/… Well, it seems to have been edited – by a moderator, I believe – namely, the i in twitterers.

M.A.R.

14:27

That's not an inappropriate comment

userr2684291

@M.A.R. Well I think it is, even without the witty remark.

Alex89

I understand if the post is abusive or spam, then if it accumulates 3 flags, it will be closed and removed from the main page, and in case of 6 flags it will be automatically removed (deleted). But what's in the case of extreme off-topic? Does an off-topic question need to accumulate 3 or 6 flags to be put on-hold or closed?..

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 What about it is inappropriate?

Lemme reread it

Nope, doesn't seem inappropriate to me

@Alex89 No, that's only for spam and rude/abusive posts

0

Q: Necessity of 'be' following coordinating conjunction (specific example)

Let's say I want to combine the two clauses below into one sentence using the coordinating conjunction 'and'. 1) I am 48 2) I am trying to get pregnant Which of the following is the correct /most natural way to do it and why? I am 48 and trying to get pregnant. I am 48 and am trying to get p...

grammaticality parallelism coordinating-conjunctions

Wasn't there a title similar to this, from this very OP?

userr2684291

@M.A.R. Well, even discounting a bad word, it's a personal opinion featuring a falsehood, based on what the media report. At any rate, I don't see how personal opinions on such matters aren't immaterial on this type of site.

M.A.R.

@Alex89 BTW, there are close votes, which you will be able to cast when you reach 3,000 rep and which have their own review queue. If 5 users vote to close a question, it becomes on-hold or closed. You, as a lower rep user, can flag things for closure, and that would make them enter the review queue, but it won't count as one of those 5 people voting.

@userr2684291 So purely because it's a personal opinion? There are an awful lot of similar opinions being posted as comments everyday.

The idea is that comments are ephemeral and would be removed some day, but you need stronger justification to flag a comment

Just like you need a strong enough justification for a less than 2k edit

You're badgering reviewers to review the edit, so it should be substantial. You're also badgering a mod by flagging, which is the very reason some flags get declined.

For instance, imagine a rude/abusive flag on an NAA. It would get declined. Why?

userr2684291

14:40

@M.A.R. That's not my problem at all.

M.A.R.

Because it's not justified enough to urgently call the mod to some post that would be deleted as NAA

userr2684291

@M.A.R. That's <Latin word> fallacy.

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 No, I mean that you should be flagging all of those other comments purely because they're opinions as well.

Alex89

Oh, thanks. M.A.R. At our site things are simpler. There are 15 moderators, and only they can close or delete questions (although we do have flags). But any moderator can close a question, and we close duplicates only.

M.A.R.

That comment would indeed be removed some day, because there's no guarantee for any comment to stay.

userr2684291

14:45

@M.A.R. If I see one, I'll do that.

M.A.R.

Shrug if you'd flagged that comment as ''too chatty'' on Chem, it might have been marked as helpful. But there's this mindset on ELL that comments with some content are worth keeping

One reason I have the most rep among my accounts on this site but I don't have a Marshal badge.

I have four or five other Marshal badges.

user178049

15:06

ell.stackexchange.com/q/123786/35026 What do you think about this question and those answers?

M.A.R.

Those answers are meh, I didn't vote.

The question can't be closed as proofreading simply because the policy says so

Catija

@M.A.R. are you uncertain today?

M.A.R.

It's ''limited to an area of concern''

@Catija Huh

Catija

@M.A.R. Your avatar looks like "Heisenberg" from Breaking Bad... The actual Heisenberg is known for a particular principle...

user178049

Haha.. someone needs to be tie breaker.

M.A.R.

15:09

Oh, you were making a pun about my avatar. -____-

At the very least, you recognized him

@user178049 I see no other opinion than mine

That's it. I'm heading to meta.ELL.

userr2684291

@user178049 I think it's an okay-to-meh question, even if the enquirer doesn't know how to pose it in terms of grammar topics it's, in essence, enquiring about.

Catija

@M.A.R. Considering my activity on M&TV, It'd be difficult for me to explain not recognizing it.

M.A.R.

@Catija Point. I thought everyone knew about Breaking Bad, but I might have been wrong.

userr2684291

@user178049 The answers are both wrong in saying that the sentences at issue are correct.

Actually... I was reading a different question by the author of the more severely down voted answer where they're wrong.

user178049

I think the question is fine for a new user. But, those answers are probably dissappointing.

userr2684291

15:21

@user178049 Yeah.

M.A.R.

0

Q: Why are there so many apparently erroneous proofreading close votes?

Even though every once in a while it comes up on meta that people are closing questions as proofreading while they're not proofreading I still often see proofreading close votes on questions which are clearly "limited to an area of concern", hence per definition, on-topic in that regard. This, o...

discussion close-reasons vote-to-close

user178049

ell.stackexchange.com/q/123792/35026 Drama starts

M.A.R.

Stupid modals and modalities

userr2684291

@user178049 Oh yeah, I'm watching intently.

user178049

@M.A.R. I think the problem is that the OP is too lazy to italicize or bold the point that needs attention.

M.A.R.

15:33

@user178049 We had a user which had a problem with over-boldening stuff

user178049

@userr2684291 Hahaha. You'd better join.

userr2684291

@user178049 Hahaha, it's tempting.

user178049

@M.A.R. Haha, me one of them.

M.A.R.

Title of the day

-5

Q: REALLY NEED HELP! QUICK!

I have no idea how to do this, its due tonight at 12... Thanks! The final step in manufacture of pure platinum (for use in automobile catalytic converters and other purposes) is the decomposition reaction of (NH4)2PtCl6. In addition to the solid metal, the following gaseous byproducts are also f...

homework stoichiometry

user178049

@userr2684291 Hahaha

@M.A.R. That's rhetorical.

Damkerng T.

15:48

@M.A.R. I think WITH MY HOMEWORK was omitted in the title. :P

Good evening, everyone!

M.A.R.

Evening!

user178049

@DamkerngT. Good evening! But it's 12 a.m here

Damkerng T.

@M.A.R. LOL -- I'd already forgotten his name!

@user178049 Oh! -- Selamat datang, BTW!

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. Which language is this?

Damkerng T.

@M.A.R. Malay, hopefully! :D

user178049

15:53

@DamkerngT. I think you meant to say "selamat malam" :-D

Damkerng T.

Hahaha! My bad! Sorry. :-)

userr2684291

A couple of new answers to that question have arrived on the scene!

Damkerng T.

Let me try again. Selamat malam! :D

user178049

It's Malay

You are from Thailand, right? @DamkerngT.

Damkerng T.

Yep! :D

user178049

15:55

@DamkerngT. Selamat malam! :-D All I know in Thailand is "Sawadikhap". I know how to say it, but I don't even know what does it mean

*what it means.

Damkerng T.

@user178049 It means something like "Hello!" :-)

Literally, it means "peace/safe".

Now it's only used in the sense of "Hello".

user178049

@userr2684291 Which question?

@DamkerngT. Thanks! I learn a new thing :)

Damkerng T.

Me too! Thanks!

user178049

It's a pleasure to learn a new thing :-D

userr2684291

@user178049 The one where things were heating up. Keep your eyes peeled open; the atmosphere is vacillating from steamy to spicy, and back.

Damkerng T.

15:58

Indeed! Very true indeed!

user178049

@userr2684291 Hahaha, gonna see it.

Feeds

16:09

3

Q: Why are there so many apparently erroneous proofreading close votes?

Even though every once in a while it comes up on meta that people are closing questions as proofreading while they're not proofreading I still often see proofreading close votes on questions which are clearly "limited to an area of concern", hence per definition, on-topic in that regard. This, o...

discussion close-reasons vote-to-close

M.A.R.

17:07

Today an awful lot of answers are getting downvotes. O.O

Araucaria

3

Q: "I did this, which together with that, HAS/HAVE given me a foundation"

I am currently working on a letter and I wrote a sentence similar to this: I created my own goals, which, together with my studies in mathematics, has given me an excellent foundation for this program. I believe this is a correct sentence, but my friend claims it has a plural subject. I bel...

grammatical-number verb-agreement compound-subject

M.A.R.

17:29

in English Language & Usage, 14 secs ago, by M.A.R.

HEY EVERYONE, Mitch totally wasted half an hour trying to understand what 'redicivist' means!!!

Catija

18:54

@M.A.R. Actual proofreading:

0

Q: It this sentence right and acceptable in english?

I posted a status Got committed My friend commented It happens every month I replied No it doesnt If it did I wont have posted for the first time Is my reply grammatical?

grammar

V.V.

19:22

4

Q: "Who is you" – not "are"

Why do we say "who are you" when talking to a single person? Related question: "Who is speaking with each other?" Is this correct?

word-choice sentence-construction

The simpliest enjoys popularity. But I liked comments.

Damkerng T.

20:29

@V.V. I wonder how people would react if I complicated the matter with something like this:

imdb.com/title/tt0816692/quotes?item=qt2460599

> Cooper: Who's they?

:-)

Damkerng T.

20:59

0

A: Would I have (had) vs If I would have (had) and Had I vs If I had

You're asking a question about the subjunctive mood in English, Yay! First, let's frame the topic. "In English, the subjunctive mood is used to explore conditional or imaginary situations. It can be tricky to use, which partially explains why many speakers and writers forgo it. But it’s quite u...

Umm... "subjunctive mood"?

user178049

22:43

ell.stackexchange.com/questions/123786/… @M.A.R. why is this question closed as proofreading?

@DamkerngT. Yay! Haha

Araucaria

This post might interest you then @

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. TRomano's answer might be confusing as well. They start with It would be very unusual (in contemporary English) to use "Would I had ...", and then continue with Normally we'd say (in eye-dialect): "If I woulda hadda gun..."

Damkerng T.

But that's not Would I had ...

One thing I learned about language, generalization could be harmful.

Araucaria

@V.V. This question might be interesting for you then! "Why don't we say "I is" instead of "I am"?

userr2684291

With their first sentence (I didn't quote it in full) they imply that the form "If I had..." is correct – but why add this, what seems to be an utterance made by an uneducated speaker.

Damkerng T.

22:56

@userr2684291 I think they've read some rules, which might've already too generalized, or maybe they generalized the rules more than their sources intended.

userr2684291

23:30

@DamkerngT. Eh, I'm disappointed.

Damkerng T.

@userr2684291 By what? Are we talking about the same thing?

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. Hahah. I'm talking about TRomano's answer.

Damkerng T.

Oh, I was talking about the question.

@userr2684291 Hmm... I think TRomano's answer is pretty good. I wonder if we can avoid confusion completely, considering that it's a confusing question. (BTW, If I had ... is indeed correct, isn't it?!)

> It would be very unusual (in contemporary English) to use "Would I had ..." or "Would I have had ..." to mean "If I had..." or "If I had had..."

What's unusual is trying to use Would I had ... to mean it.

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. I agree, but why would they then proceed to say the common form is something that strikes me as uneducated?

Damkerng T.

Oh, I think the two paragraphs are disjointed!

I guess if TRomano usually used a horizontal rule, he would've inserted one between the first two paragraphs.

But I don't think he usually uses it.

userr2684291

23:40

He also talks about the "would that" structure which is not at all common, and is in fact moribund, as per your answer here.

Damkerng T.

Ah, yes! If I had to guess why he included that, I guess because he saw the question a bit contriving, so he tried to cover all the possible combinations of these patterns! :D

Maybe ELL makes him think this way. :P

Some of our users seem to fond of this kind of question, i.e., given a usual pattern, they will try to twist it into all possible combinations, whether they've heard the results or not.

I call this kind of learning "hacking the language".

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. Yeah, I was just about to say.

@DamkerngT. There aren't any discernible paragraph boundaries in his answer, to be honest, and the gist of the answer is contained in these two words: "to mean", from which you can infer that "If I had (had)" is the correct form.

Damkerng T.

@userr2684291 nods -- It's hard to make out the intended sections in an answer on ELL. Markdown is somewhat limited in this respect.

I personally feel like his first two paragraphs belong to different section, but I don't know if this is really his intention.

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