Which tense I do have to use if a main clause is in past simple tense and a subordinate clause is linked by the word before?

Question

I have the following situation:

So would it be correct to describe this situation with one sentence so?

My comment was written before I've seen the Martin's comment.

It should be "seen Martin's comment" not "seen the Martin's comment". — Stuart F, Mar 13 '23 at 11:11
Does this answer your question? "past simple tense + before + past perfect tense" pattern — Stuart F, Mar 13 '23 at 11:12
No, your suggested sentence is not syntactically valid. The second verb can't be Present Perfect. If you want to use a Perfect form, it must be Past Perfect: ...before I had seen* his comment. Note that ...before I saw his comment* is fine, as is ...before seeing* his comment*, so there's no need to use a Perfect verb form at all. — FumbleFingers, Mar 13 '23 at 11:28
@StuartF: That linked question addresses the difference between My comment was* written before I had seen the comment* and My comment had been* written before I saw the comment*, which doesn't seem directly relevant here, — FumbleFingers, Mar 13 '23 at 11:44

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 13 '23 at 11:55

OP's suggested sentence is not syntactically valid. The second verb can't be Present Perfect.

If you want to use a Perfect form, it must be Past Perfect...

My comment was written...
...before I had seen his comment.

Note that both these alternatives are fine, so there's actually no need to use a Perfect verb form at all....

...before I saw his comment.
...before seeing his comment.

1 Answers1