"have completed" v "had completed"

1 2
   Share on Facebook  
Anonymous  #122847  Sun, 31 Jul 05 03:13 PM

Now, I think that was very helpful from you guys. I really appreciate all the help.

For my communication skills, I believe I have very good communication skills because I have successfully completed several communication subjects which involved both written and oral communication. (Present perfect for the immediacy of the completion)

So If I just say I had completed those communication subjects like 3-4 years ago. Do I still you the "have completed" and not "had completed".

For my communication skills, I believe I have very good communication skills because I have successfully completed several communication subjects which involved both written and oral communication three years ago. (added)

Does it mean I still use "have completed" in the above situation then?

Thank you

  
Tallulah Tam  #122886  Sun, 31 Jul 05 10:43 PM

"For my communication skills, I believe I have very good communication skills because I have successfully completed several communication subjects which involved both written and oral communication three years ago. (added)".

 I would leave the second "have" out, it is not needed. (Called "cannibalism" by H.W. Fowler, - the swallowing up of one "have" by another).

For my communication skills, I believe I have very good communication skills because three years ago I successfully completed several communication subjects which involved both written and oral communication.

But I agree with Jim, it is a cumbersome sentence, using the word "communication" four times in one sentence is not very good communication!

  
Top 500 Contributor
Joined on Sun, Jul 17 2005
Alabama, USA (British)
Full Member (234)
If at first you don't succeed sky-diving is not for you.
Eimai_Anglos  #122935  Mon, 01 Aug 05 01:57 AM
But I agree with Jim, it is a cumbersome sentence, using the word "communication" four times in one sentence is not very good communication!

I agree with the sentiment but not with your punctuation. (Ignoring the fact that you begin a sentence with "But").

"But I agree with Jim: it is a cumbersome sentence. Using the word "communication" four times in one sentence is not very good communication!"
  
Top 150 Contributor
Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005
Cheshire, England
Full Member (464)
Proficient Speaker
Martin - native English speaker and technical author.
Tallulah Tam  #122984  Mon, 01 Aug 05 06:27 AM

 

I agree with the sentiment but not with your punctuation. (Ignoring the fact that you begin a sentence with "But")

 

Eimai, According to H.W. Fowler, Modern English Usage and the OED. it is an "outworn grammatical pedantry, a superstition, to believe that beginning a sentence with And or But is a solecism"  And I believe you once chided me for using an "archaic" word!

The punctuation was correct.  There was no need to use a colon after I agree with Jim, the next phrase, it is a cumbersome sentence, is not what I would call an appositive phrase or clause. If it HAD been, then you would have needed to use a capital letter following the colon. Likewise, there was no need to use a full stop after the word sentence.  I chose to use only ONE sentence. Also we do not generally put our replies in inverted commas. I use inverted commas, (or as the Americans call them quotation marks,) when I am quoting someone. Finally, (since people in glass houses should not throw stones,) you should have  known to place a full stop OUTSIDE the last parentheses of the reproduced sentence above. Smile [:)]

  
Anonymous  #333843  Tue, 27 Feb 07 06:49 PM
good discussion...Interesting thoughts...Can we make this concept a little more clearer pls??
  
Goodman  #333917  Tue, 27 Feb 07 11:27 PM

Being away for 3 weeks, I am back on forum again. This is my 2 cents. I think different readers have different inputs, and one may prefer certain sentence structure over the other. To me, I would write it this way:

"I’ve  just recently graduated from the RMIT University with a  Master degree in  Professional Accounting where I had competed my studies on accounting and taxation.

"For my communication skills, I believe I have very good commands because I had successfully completed a few communication (courses) subjects with emphasis on both written and oral communication".

We don’t need to repeat “communication” in the above sentence. Doing so will sound redundant.  Also on a side note, completing a course does not equate to being successful in mastering that skill.

  
Top 50 Contributor
Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005
Calif. USA
Senior Member (3,243)
The name says it all!
1 2
AddThis Feed Button RSS Feed: ESL General English Grammar Questions
© 2008 MediaCET Ltd.
Terms and Conditions & Terms of Service