have seen/had seen/saw

[idiotmike]

Dear teachers,

Could I use "have seen" or "had seen" in the sentence below? Could you explain why? Thank you.

On another note, I am wondering if it makes any difference if I say "....that the companies caught up......." Would it be correct if I add "the" in front of company?

"The study found that companies caught up in mere accounting scandals saw their shares drop by an average of 8.8% over the six months on either side of the incident."

Thank you

[dilodi83]

I'm neither a native nor a teacher, but I think you should use "have seen" in this case...but let's wait for a teacher's explanation...

[bhaisahab]

All three are possible.
"the" is fine.