Present Perfect with Past Tense

Question

Is this sentence reasonable? Please explain if so. If not, would you please correct it. Thank you.

You have addressed everything I needed to know.

How is the above different from the following?

You have addressed everything I have needed to know.
You addressed everything I needed to know.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

You have addressed everything I needed to know.-- OK. You have recently completed addressing everything I needed to know when I gave you my list last year.

You have addressed everything I have needed to know.-- Unusual, but possible: You have been addressing and I have been needing repeatedly.

You addressed everything I needed to know.-- OK. Both activities were completed well in the past.

Anonymous · Answer

Mister MicawberYou have addressed everything I have needed to know.-- Unusual, but possible: You have been addressing and I have been needing repeatedly.

Thank you, MM, but can this also mean: 'You have recently completed addressing everything I have recently needed to know.'? For example, I asked two questions on two different recent occasions and you have recently completed addressing both questions in just one response.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousYou have addressed everything I needed to know.

How is the above different from the following?

You have addressed everything I have needed to know.
You addressed everything I needed to know.

I agree with what Mr. M. has said above, but I think I find "everything I have needed to know" even more unusual than he does. If it's ever necessary to say such a thing it must be very rarely.

CJ

Mister Micawber · Answer

Yes, a native speaker would rarely find the need to repeat the perfect aspect in the dependent clause, but would go with simple past-- or simple present: 'You have addressed everything I need to know'.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, CJ and MM, for your explanations.

Mister MicawberYes, a native speaker would rarely find the need to repeat the perfect aspect in the dependent clause, but would go with simple past

I just have some follow-up questions. I read from another thread in this forum that sentence A below is the better choice for an interview since it all focused on the present situation, while in sentence B, the simple past is awkward here because it takes focus way from the present situation. Nor does it fit well with the Present Perfect in the first part.

A. My time at X company has shown me that I have developed my skills.
B. My time at X company has shown me that I developed my skills.

1. Would you agree that A with both verbs in present perfect is the better choice?
2. Or is B better because it is rare to find the need to repeat the perfect aspect in the dependent clause, thus it should be the simple past?

CalifJim · Answer

I can't speak for Mr. M., but my remarks were addressed to that specific sentence with the verb need. I did not mean to say that a certain combination of tenses is very rare -- only that that particular formulation with "have needed" is (most likely) very rare.

To say that you "have developed your skills" is certainly OK as you've used it in that sentence, but develop is a different verb entirely. So I prefer A in this instance.

I suppose it has to do with the fact that need is a state and developing is an activity. (But I don't guarantee that that is the exact reason. I don't know of any particular rule or principle that covers these situations.)

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

I can see the reason now. So there is no definite rule on such combinations of tenses, but I believe what you've explained is a very good guideline and I would definitely use it. Thank you.

I'll wait for Mr. M's view on this, too.

Mister Micawber · Answer

A. My time at X company has shown me that I have developed my skills.
B. My time at X company has shown me that I developed my skills.

1. Would you agree that A with both verbs in present perfect is the better choice?-- I forgot what I commented in that thread, but yes.

2. Or is B better because it is rare to find the need to repeat the perfect aspect in the dependent clause, thus it should be the simple past?-- The question in my mind would be whether it is better to express recently developed (and perhaps still developing) skills or fully developed skills.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Mister Micawber, for answering my questions, but I would appreciate if you could advise on some more questions, please.

A. My time at X company has shown me that I have developed my skills.
B. My time at X company has showed me that I developed my skills.

Mister MicawberThe question in my mind would be whether it is better to express recently developed (and perhaps still developing) skills or fully developed skills.

1. I think recently developed skills is better because it's fresh and relevant to the present, but do you think combining the two ideas would be better by saying the following?

My time at X company has shown me that I have fully developed my skills.

2. Incidentally, is it still correct to say sentence A in an interview even if I resigned from X company long ago like a year ago?

3. If A is no longer appropriate, is C now the better choice? Can I use 'have developed' because I still have the skills, although it is not recently developed?

C. My time at X company showed me that I have developed my skills.
D. My time at X company showed me that I developed my skills.

4. In D, if I've understood you correctly, 'developed' here could mean fully developed skills, but I think it doesn't tell whether you still have the skills at present or not. Therefore, the simple past 'developed' is not good for an interview because it doesn't connect with the present, I think. Would you agree?

Thank you so much in advance for your assistance.

Mister Micawber · Answer

1-- Your call.
2-- Anotherjudgement call.
3-- I find neither particularly 'better'. Yes.
4-- No; common sense and context will prevail.

Present Perfect with Past Tense

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