This article presents the results of experimental and theoretical studies of the v_OH and v_OD band shapes in the polarized infrared spectra of 3‐thiophenic acid crystals measured at room temperature and at 77 K. The line shapes are studied theoretically within the framework of the anharmonic coupling theory, Davydov coupling, Fermi resonance, direct and indirect damping, as well as the selection rule breaking mechanism for forbidden transitions. The adiabatic approximation allowing to separate the high‐frequency motion from the slow one of the H‐bond bridge is performed for each separate H‐bond bridge of the dimer and a strong nonadiabatic correction is introduced via the resonant exchange between the fast‐mode excited states of the two moieties. The spectral density is obtained within the linear response theory by Fourier transform of the damped autocorrelation functions. The approach correctly fits the experimental line shape of the hydrogenated compound and predicts satisfactorily the evolution in the line shapes with temperature and the change in the line shape with isotopic substitution. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010