0

From a movie. Two cyclists talking after a short race.

A: How is that for slow? B: You gotta give me a second chance! I'll race you through the tunnel. A: You're on. Hadn't had enough? (meaning I outraced you.)

Why is it "hadn't had enough?" It only happened 10 seconds ago. Why not "didn't have enough" or "haven't had enough"?

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    Maybe it's meaningful in the context of the movie, but I don't understand what "How is that for slow?" means here. Are both conversants native speakers of English?
    – FumbleFingers
    Mar 15, 2021 at 18:48
  • Americans. The first one said that the other one couldn't cycle fast. So, the other one decided to demonstrate how fast they can ride. And they said "How is that for slow?"
    – user1425
    Mar 15, 2021 at 18:55
  • 1
    Sorry, but that's not my kind of English. But as for using Past Perfect instead of Present Perfect Haven't [you] had enough? is probably a subtitle / transcription error of a mishearing. That kind of mistake isn't something native speakers would ever be likely to make, no matter how "sloppy" their speech is in general.
    – FumbleFingers
    Mar 15, 2021 at 18:56
  • Neither is mine. The movie is "The car" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Car
    – user1425
    Mar 15, 2021 at 19:00
  • In that case the people who wrote the subtitles also misheard it.
    – user1425
    Mar 15, 2021 at 19:00

0

Reset to default

You must log in to answer this question.

Browse other questions tagged .