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I learned that "had", or past perfect is usually used with a dead entity. But what if I am not trying to emphasize the fact that an action had taken place before that entity died? Such as:

My dead grandfather has stepped on a mine (when he was alive).

This sentence is resultative, showing why he died, and uses present perfect.

And this sentence below:

My dead grandfather stepped on a mine (on July 6, 1995).

This sentence is incorporating the specific date at which he stepped on a mine, therefore using simple past tense.

Are the uses of simple past and present perfect tense above valid?

whitedevil
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  • Time-references, if any, in a present-perfect construction cannot exclude the present. "when he was alive" excludes the present no less than "July 6, 1995" does, and so the present-perfect is a no-go. – TimR Jul 11 '16 at 20:31
  • @TRomano Okay. I thought it's possible because to me it was telling the result of stepping of a mine, which continues to hold to this day, the death. – whitedevil Jul 11 '16 at 20:35
  • Consider: I have been* to London. I went there two years ago.* Any explicit time-reference in the sentence "overrides" the implicit conversational context. You must look at each clause individually. – TimR Jul 11 '16 at 21:12

1 Answers1

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Present perfect only works for things your grandfather can still do. If he can longer do it use simple past.

Things grandpa can no longer do --

My dead grandfather stepped on a mine [when he was still alive]

My dead grandfather fell off a horse [on July 6, 1995].

Things grandpa can still do --

My dead grandfather has lain in the grave for over forty years.

EllieK
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  • If you want a "resultative" sentence, showing why he died, you have many options but I don't think verb tenses will directly help you solve the issue. A sentence like, "Stepping on a mine killed my grandfather," would work. – EllieK Jul 11 '16 at 21:17