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If women have had to bear the consequences of changing gender equations, men have been through a confusing time too.

Why does this sentence use “have had”? Can I rewrite above sentence without have?

Please somebody, describe it in simple English.

Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
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Prakash Vishwakarma
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    "Have had" is the present perfect tense of "have". Difficult to tell you more without further context. – None Feb 01 '14 at 15:51
  • Please tryy to explain with a simple example – Prakash Vishwakarma Feb 01 '14 at 16:04
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    [We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.](http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html) – Jim Feb 01 '14 at 16:05
  • @Jim does it only had to do with time thing, aren't there any other differences. I mean, does it depends on other contexts irrespective of time. – Prakash Vishwakarma Feb 01 '14 at 16:09
  • Differences in what? We are so far only talking about "have had". – Jim Feb 01 '14 at 16:12
  • I meant differen e between had and have had – Prakash Vishwakarma Feb 01 '14 at 16:29
  • Prakash, Can you give us some example of where you see some confusion in the choice of *had* and *have had* that does not just deal with time? It would help us to understand the source of your question. – Jim Feb 01 '14 at 18:56
  • Might be related: http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/16302/past-simple-or-present-perfect-tried-or-have-tried – Damkerng T. Feb 01 '14 at 20:53
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    Welcome to ELL! How and when to use any perfect construction is so broad and complicated that it cannot be described briefly or in 'simple English'. Take a look at this [Canonical Post](http://ell.stackexchange.com/q/13255). If it leaves you with specific questions, feel free to raise them. – StoneyB on hiatus Feb 01 '14 at 23:11
  • I didn't realize until after I'd written my answer that you were just wondering about “have had”. Please let me know if §4 of my answer resolves your question. – Tyler James Young Feb 06 '14 at 22:26

1 Answers1

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This statement contains multiple elements that work together to convey meaning. Let's break them down:

1. Somewhat Special Conditional

  • There's an elided “then” that would normally introduce the dependent clause.
  • The statement does not refer to a sequence of physical events with the latter dependent on the former.
    • Contrast: “If it rains, the ground will get wet.”
  • The statement does not refer to a necessity that must be met for something else to occur.
    • Contrast: “If we want to get there by 9pm, we will have to go faster.”
  • The statement suggests that the same perspective and logic by which we came to the first conclusion must also lead us to arrive at the second (as a consequence of the first).
    • Compare: “If someone is free to do good or bad, they should be held accountable for the bad.”

  • The statement does not follow the rules of a proof, but suggests we consider the clauses equivalent.

  • With some substitution, we get:

    If [permitted perception is valid], [then] [suggested perception must also be allowed].

2. Deference/Acknowledgement

  • The statement could, with little to no alteration of connotation, be rewritten:

    With all due respect to [acknowledged fact], we can also consider [suggested fact].

  • I see the intention as being to bring up an issue that is not as well known as a related issue, without taking anything away from the more widely known issue.

3. Use of Undefined/Uncommon Term “Gender Equations”

  • I was not able to find a good definition for this term in the movie review I assume you are quoting or anywhere else online.

  • Gender is a somewhat complicated concept on its own, but basically refers to the roles that people play, especially those typically thought of as masculine or feminine.

    • There are many issues thought to stem from this division and especially its (occasionally extreme) conflict with one's own identity and/or concept of the other gender.

  • Equations are by definition a zero-sum game, so presumably the author is suggesting that there is a fixed quantity of power that has been shifting across a binary.

  • It may help that the statement is essentially restated later in the article:

    Whenever there is talk of gender issues, it is kind of assumed that it will be about the problems women face in a still largely patriarchal world, but men have problems too.
    Source: mid-day.com review of With You Without You

4. Tense of Verb “To Have”

  • “. . . women have had to . . .”

  • Eliminating “have” would leave the verb as “had”, which would be the past perfect (or pluperfect) form, which is . . .

    . . . used to refer to an occurrence that was already in the past (completed) at a past time.
    Source: Wikipedia entry for “Pluperfect”

  • The author does not wish to convey that women bore “the consequences of changing gender equations” at some point in the past and no longer do.

  • The author employs the perfect progressive aspect to refer to. . .

    . . . the completed portion of a continuing action or [. . .] state:
    I have been working for eight hours.
    Source: Wikipedia entry for “Perfect Progressive”

5. Use of Phrase “Have to”

  • “. . . women have had to . . .”

  • have to
    Must; need to; to be required to. Indicates obligation.
    I just have to have that shirt; you have to wear a seat belt.
    Source: Wiktionary definition of “have to”

There's some other stuff going on in this statement too! Let me know what's still unclear.

Tyler James Young
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