[Grammar] Present Perfect and Past Simple in one sentence

[anastas1a]

Hello!
I'm confused. Can we use these two tenses in one sentence?

Is this one correct:

"And you've always practiced those desires that changed so fast and choked me." ?

Thank you!

 

[probus]

One does run across such sentences occasionally, and they are intelligible. Example:

John has had a longstanding fear of water, but that changed when he met the beautiful SCUBA instructor.

It is not the best usage. It is better to use the same tense in both clauses.

John has had a longstanding fear of water, but that has changed since he met the beautiful SCUBA instructor.

John had a longstanding fear of water, but that changed when he met the beautiful SCUBA instructor.

 

[Barb_D]

I usually agree with what probus writes, but unless this is an AmE/BrE difference, I can't support that that "that has changed since" is a better sentence than his original one.

We have mixed tenses in sentences all the time. I didn't like him when I met him 1999, but I have grown to love him sinse. I started working here in 2003 and will celebrate my 10th anniversary in July. And so on.

 

[probus]

I usually agree with what probus writes, but unless this is an AmE/BrE difference, I can't support that that "that has changed since" is a better sentence than his original one.

We have mixed tenses in sentences all the time. I didn't like him when I met him 1999, but I have grown to love him sinse. I started working here in 2003 and will celebrate my 10th anniversary in July. And so on.

No disagreement from me. We happily mix and match tenses all the time.

I have given him a lot of rope in the past, but I'm not going to do so any more.
I used to think so, but I don't any more.

But the question was specifically about the past perfect with the past simple, and I found it very hard to come up with a sentence that that I felt really comfortable with.

There is: He hated broccoli for a long time, but he has learned to like it.

But I think she wants one where the past perfect comes first, as in her example.

 

[Barb_D]

In re-reading the first sentence, I think it was the desires that choked as well as changed. Whatever that means.