Use of ‘had’

His wife divorced him because he had an affair. (wrong per Manhattan’s SC guide)

His wife divorced him because he had had an affair. (correct per Manhattan’s SC guide)


Is first wrong because it does not tell us when the affair was had?

before the divorce or after ? (but if the affair was after the divorce then its weird for a woman to divorce her husband because he would have an affair in his marriage after her divorce with him – by definition the affair can only be had while still married)

the second sentence does not tell us the timing of the affair either. Was it when he was married to this woman or when he was married to his earlier wife. Don’t you think it’s a bit far fetched to assume that in either case she abhorred the idea of that guy cheating, not just with her, but with anyone?

I think if you consider the meaning of the sentence and not apply the grammar rules blindly then there is nothing wrong with the first sentence.

Anyway, what is a sure shot way to completely master this has/had and simple past tense business? I am not a native English speaker.

I did not find Manhattan’s SC guide very helpful. It’s good for other concepts don’t get me wrong.

Is it true that when you have another time reference like ‘time of divorce’ in the earlier sentence or a time comparison one should consider if the activity 1 was completed or is still in progress having started earlier compared to the reference?

Consider this

We thought Joe didn’t go to the circus with his friends.

We thought Joe had not gone to the circus with his friends.

Reference – time when Joe’s friends went to the circus.
Activity 1 – Joe’s departure

Furthermore

Which is correct and why?

If she had more money she would have bought herself a new dress.

If she had had more money she would have bought herself a new dress.


If she had more money she would have had bought herself a new dress.


If she had had more money she would have had bought herself a new dress.