Do I need two wases?

She was in a better frame of mind than Stella.

She was in a better frame of mind than Stella was.

 

I'd go with the first sentence. I'm pretty sure the second one is grammatically-incorrect in any case, and that if you're going with that option the "was" comes before "Stella."

 

No, the first is grammatically correct and the second is ugly.

 

It is never a good idea to repeat the same words in a sentence - always avoid repeating the same words in a sentence if you can

 

Hypocrite! jk Could you PM me your website please? I'm unsure why you can't have it in your sig, but I'd like to check your book out. Thanks x

 

Thought so.
Word suggested the second version, so I wanted a second opinion.

 

I hope the irony in this sentence was deliberate.

Some people recoil at the notion of writing sentences like:

because of the adjacent hads, but it is merely a perfectly fine use of past perfect tense with the verb to have.

As for Zaffy's sentences, both are fine. In most cases, I would prefer the first version, which omits the understood (and therefore superfluous) repeated verb. With different words or a different context, though, the second form may be clearer. Sometimes, explicitly completing the parallel structure adds emphasis.

 

Then there's this:

"James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher."

Or, with punctuation:

James, while John had had "had", had had "had had"; "had had" had had a better effect on the teacher.

 

Explain, please.

 

James and John both turned in something to a teacher. John used "had" and James used "had had" and the teacher preferred the work of James.

 

Got it.