That was the most delicious meal I have had for a long time."

[tufguy]

"That was the most delicious meal I have had for a long time."

What does this sentence mean? I am getting confused because of "for a long time". Does it mean that the person had a meal that he thinks is so delicious that he hasn't had a meal like that for a long time?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes. It is a long time since the person had a meal that was as delicious as the one he/she just ate.

 

[teechar]

"That was the most delicious meal I have had for a long time."

I would instead say "I haven't had such a delicious meal in a long time."

 

[tufguy]

I would instead say "I haven't had such a delicious meal in a long time."

"That was the most delicious meal I had had for a long time so I wanted to eat that again." In this sentence the person is saying that he hadn't eaten that dish for a long time.

"That was the most delicious meal I had had after a long time so I was content." In this that person is saying he ate that delicious meal after a long time. Am I correct?

 

[Tdol]

Neither of these works- stick with the original or Teechar's variation.

 

[tufguy]

Neither of these works- stick with the original or Teechar's variation.

But could you please tell me the correct way of saying that I want to say? I know about the first sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

"That was the most delicious meal I have had for a long time." Correct.

I would instead say "I haven't had such a delicious meal in a long time." Correct.

Both your original and teechar's are grammatically correct. In addition, you could say:

It's a long time since I had a meal [that was] that delicious.
It's been a long time since I had a meal [that was] that delicious.

You can't ask "What is the correct way of saying ...?" in this case. There are multiple possibilities.

 

[tufguy]

Both your original and teechar's are grammatically correct. In addition, you could say:

It's a long time since I had a meal [that was] that delicious.
It's been a long time since I had a meal [that was] that delicious.

You can't ask "What is the correct way of saying ...?" in this case. There are multiple possibilities.

"That was the most delicious meal I had had after a long time so I was content."

"That was the most delicious meal I had had for a long time so I wanted to eat that again."

I was asking about these two. Could you please help? Could you please help me correct these two?

 

[emsr2d2]

"That was the most delicious meal I had had [STRIKE]after[/STRIKE] for a long time so I was content."

"That was the most delicious meal I had had for a long time so I wanted to eat [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] it again."

I was asking about these two. [STRIKE]Could you please help?[/STRIKE] Could you please help me by correct​ing [STRIKE]these two[/STRIKE]them?

I have corrected them above.

 

[tufguy]

I have corrected them above.

I am confused here. "For a long time" is being used for both. If we have to say we had that meal after a long time then we have to say "I had had it for a long time" and when we have to say "I hadn't eaten it for a while" then also we have to say "I had had it for a long time". So in both cases we have to say "I had had it for a long time" am I correct?

 

[tufguy]

Could you please clear my doubt regarding this? Please reply.

 

[teechar]

If we [STRIKE]have[/STRIKE] want to say "we had that meal after a long time", then we have to say "we had had it for a long time"

No, that doesn't make sense.

and when we [STRIKE]have[/STRIKE] want to say "I hadn't eaten it for a while", then also we [STRIKE]have to[/STRIKE] say "I had had it for a long time".

And neither does this.

 

[tufguy]

No, that doesn't make sense.


And neither does this.

So could you please tell me what I need to say if I have to say this? Could you please help I am really confused about it?

 

[teechar]

What exactly are you trying to say/express? Describe the situation clearly.

 

[tufguy]

What exactly are you trying to say/express? Describe the situation clearly.

Thank you Teechar. I know I bother you guys a lot but thanks for bearing this and helping me.

1) "That was the most delicious meal I have had for a long time." (Here it means that person just ate something that was so delicious that this person is saying he has eaten this kind of food after a long time am I correct?)

2) "That was the most delicious meal I haven't had "for a long time" or "in a long time" or "for ages"." (What does this sentence mean then?)

3) "This is the most delicious meal I have had "for a long time." (In this sentence the person is still eating the food that is so delicious that he can't remember that when did the last time he got the chance to eat this kind of food.)

4) "This is the most delicious meal I have had after a long time." (This person has eaten this kind of food after a long time.)

5) That was the best meal that I had had for ages. (Here the speaker is recounting a past incident and saying that he had eaten a delicious meal after a long time.)

 

[teechar]

It just means that the person had not eaten a meal that delicious in a long time.

 

[emsr2d2]

2) "That was the most delicious meal I haven't had "for a long time" or "in a long time" or "for ages"." (What does this sentence mean then?)

See above in red. I don't think that's what you meant to write.