Do I need “have” here?

Question

Was it specifically mentioned as part of their teaching or they have just happened not to have killed anyone?

Do I need have there?

tchrist · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-02 00:22:58Z

up vote 5 down vote accepted

You do need the have, but it’s because you need inversion:

Was it specifically mentioned as part of their teaching or have they just happened not to have killed anyone?

answered May 2 '12 at 0:22

tchrist
36.4k663138

	Why do I need an inversion there? Is the "was it" inversion not enough for forming a question here? – brilliant May 2 '12 at 0:53
	@brilliant It’s because of the or. Both parts require inversion. “Did you do this or did she do that?” “Are you going or are we staying?” – tchrist May 2 '12 at 1:01
	But why then we don't need it in "Is it an apple or a pear?"? I don't think we need to say "Is it an apple or is it a pear?" – brilliant May 2 '12 at 1:14
	@brilliant Yes, that’s right. But if you have a verb in the `or` part, then you need inversion. – tchrist May 2 '12 at 1:16
	Ah! I see. Thank you. What do you think about a case with comma? This is what Alok has just brought up in his answer. – brilliant May 2 '12 at 2:01

Alok · Answer 2 · 2012-05-02 01:41:06Z

up vote 0 down vote

You could split up the sentence with a comma, I think then you won't need 'have':

Was it specifically mentioned as part of their teaching, or they just happened not to have killed anyone?

answered May 2 '12 at 1:41

Alok
34918

That doesn’t scan in English. Sorry. – tchrist May 2 '12 at 2:04

2 Answers