didn't have vs. hadn't

[ibex]

Hello,

In school, we have been taught to always use negative past forms with auxilary verbs, like for example "I didn't have the time". Staying in England for some time, however, I saw the form "I hadn't the time" used in written work very frequently. Somebody told me it was a more formal way; the contexts in which I found this constructions are not particularly formal, though. Could you please help me and explain when forms like "hadn't" are used and whether they express anything particular?

Thank you!

[tiorthan]

In modern English "I hadn't the time" is less formal than "I didn't have the time". The former may be a bit old-fashioned, and may be mistaken as more formal by some, though.