"had not" and "hadn't"

China
February 12, 2010 8:10am CST
I once used "hadn't" in a sentance, but I was advised that it was not correct and I should use "had not". "Hadn't" dosen't exist in English?
2 people like this
4 responses
Aaleexix
@Aaleexix (2290)
• India
12 Feb 10
Hadn't exist in English. It is short form and you can use it. No cause of not using hadn't in English.
Aaleexix
@Aaleexix (2290)
• India
12 Feb 10
But I have seen that it is most commonly used.
mrzhang
@mrzhang (6)
• China
13 Feb 10
Thank you, owlwings and Aaleexix. Yes, it was in a formal report that what I mentioned happened.
Duglaiglas
@Duglaiglas (150)
• United States
13 Feb 10
Hey mrzhang, my friend owlwings is correct - it's an archaic word conraction no longer used. Americans and English tend to shorten thing a bit. To the point it can almosr appear to be laziness. But, I would avise: Had not = almost an equal to "never" I had not thought about it (ever)! or Have not = which is way more common. I have not thought about it (recently)! Of course, "haven't" is okay.
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Jun 10
I agree that "hadn't" is by no means archaic. It is very common in colloquial speech and one would normally use it in speaking unless one wanted to emphasise that one 'had NOT done something' (as opposed to other things that one HAD done).
coolcoder
@coolcoder (2018)
• United States
23 Feb 10
"Hadn't" isn't archaic. Frankly, I use it all of the time, and so do my friends.
1 person likes this
coolcoder
@coolcoder (2018)
• United States
23 Feb 10
I don't know who your adviser was, but he/she is totally wrong. "Hadn't" does exist in the English language. I agree with the poster before me--you don't want to use it in formal writing; spell out "had not" in that instance.
ErickJ
@ErickJ (186)
• United States
23 Feb 10
i use it all the time you shouldn't worry too much about it. people gotta understand that dialects of any language will change its just a matter of time.