Quote:
Originally Posted by susiedqq  Use I "have known" him because you knew him in the past, and still know
him.
"Had known" would be in the past, only. |
In fact, the past perfect would be a lot more appropriate, for two reasons:
1. We are retelling a story that happened in the past. The narrator's acquaintance with the man began before the story began, and continued up until the events described in the story. This is "before the past", and text books will tell you that this is exactly what the past perfect is used for. Put slightly differently, the present perfect links the past with the present, while the past perfect links the distant past with the more recent past. We don't know if the narrator still knows the man -- he may do, but it's not important to the story.
2. The first point is enough for the past perfect to be
recommended, but the present perfect would still be possible if the two people still know each other now. However, the text very strongly suggests that the man died some time in the past, and so it's unlikely that there is any more connection with the present.