[have done before were] vs [have done are]
I have written down some sentences below.
(1a) The things I have collected before are video games, sports cards and seashells. (my sentence)
(1b) The things I have collected before were video games, sports cards and seashells. (my friends' revision)
(2a) The things I have collected were video games, sports cards and seashells. (my sentence)
(2b) The things I have collected are video games, sports cards and seashells. (my friends' revision)
My non-native English speaking friends think the inclusion of "before" with the present perfect requires you to use "were". Such a "rule" does not apply when it is not included as in (2b).
I still don't understand why their versions are correct. Please help me with this. Thank you for your time and help.
Top answer
Personally, I'm indifferent toward the use of 'are' or 'were', regardless of whether 'before' is included. Either you're focusing on the activity of collecting these items, which happened in the past ( were ), or you're focusing on the current result of this activity, which is the collection you have now ( are ). I'd say it's a matter of what you want to focus on.
- Personally, I'm indifferent toward the use of 'are' or 'were', regardless of whether 'before' is included.
- Either you're focusing on the activity of collecting these items, which happened in the past ( were ), or you're focusing on the current result of this activity, which is the collection you have now ( are ).
- I'd say it's a matter of what you want to focus on.
- Still, purely from the point of view of sequencing the tenses, the present perfect goes with the present, so 'are' is the form to use if tense matching is considered the more important criterion for making the choice.
- CJ
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Personally, I'm indifferent toward the use of 'are' or 'were', regardless of whether 'before' is included.
Either you're focusing on the activity of collecting these items, which happened in the past (were), or you're focusing on the current result of this activity, which is the collection you have now (are).
I'd say it's a matter of what you want to focus on.
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