OnlineBookClub.org

sayoniwrites wrote: ↑18 Nov 2022, 01:35 Hi,

I came across the following sentence while reading a book. I would like to know whether this is grammatically correct. Any help is appreciated

"Hadn't I a mission to fail?"

Context: Could I be obliterated from the leaves of history---just like that? Hadn't I a mission to fail? I didn't know it then, but I had been born to fulfil someone else's destiny.

MsH2k wrote: ↑18 Nov 2022, 20:11

sayoniwrites wrote: ↑18 Nov 2022, 01:35 Hi,

I came across the following sentence while reading a book. I would like to know whether this is grammatically correct. Any help is appreciated

"Hadn't I a mission to fail?"

Context: Could I be obliterated from the leaves of history---just like that? Hadn't I a mission to fail? I didn't know it then, but I had been born to fulfil someone else's destiny.

Hi,

I think it’s fine as written. I tried looking up the exact phrasing for this usage, but the closest I can come up with is it is like a combination of inversion and starting a question with a negative auxiliary verb.

Here are some other possible ways of wording it, but I can't see a grammatical problem with the way it is currently written:
Didn’t I have a mission to fail?
Had I not a mission to fail?
Did I not have a mission to fail?

Julie Gebrosky wrote: ↑18 Nov 2022, 22:36 If the sentence is in quotes, even if it's technically grammatically incorrect, you find count it as an error. The rules are liberal with quotes. I believe the sentence is correct though.

sayoniwrites wrote: ↑27 Nov 2022, 01:44

Julie Gebrosky wrote: ↑18 Nov 2022, 22:36 If the sentence is in quotes, even if it's technically grammatically incorrect, you find count it as an error. The rules are liberal with quotes. I believe the sentence is correct though.

Thanks for the suggestion