"I haven't had THE chance." Surely?

[UnquietDad]

DW says "I haven't had chance."
and
"If you have chance will you...."

No!
No!!
Noooooooo!!!!!

It is "THE chance".

"If you have TIME", yes.

But it must be "the chance".

Agreed?

is she from the NE?

No, midlands

or "a chance", surely?

Aargh, now brain is doing that weird thing when you suddenly pay attention to a common word or phrase and it just seems outlandish whichever way you say it.

You are right, it requires an article (definite or indefinite - could be 'a' chance).

well, yes, "a" or "the" would be OK.

Agreed. A chance or the chance. As a matter of interest, would she write it like that as well? Sometimes people with very silly accents use a peculiar turn of phrase but will write the same thing correctly.

I'll have to ask her that!

UQD - I have just received an email from some friends in France

"We're driving up to York for a week in Feb so we'll call in if we get chance on the way up ...." My friend's DH is from Liverpool, he must have written it.

So Midlands and Liverpool?