have tried/proved/tended

[Vladv1]

"Many things reported in their pages are outright falsehoods, sometimes even purposely! I have tried to compare the "facts" presented in different 'zines to а great length, but even this proved risky, since they frequently tended to steal information from one another"

"Swedish Death Metal", by Daniel Ekeroth

Please explain the shift in the tenses and the logic for using these tenses here. Why first Present Perfect and then Past Simple, though the exact time for the past actions is not mentioned?

 

[jutfrank]

Do you want to have a go first? Remember the basic principles that governs whether a speaker uses a present or past tense, and a simple or perfect aspect.

 

[Vladv1]

Do you want to have a go first? Remember the basic principles that governs whether a speaker uses a present or past tense, and a simple or perfect aspect.

As I see it, present perfect expresse the whole period, while past simple a concrete time, but there is noconcrete time with past simple in the original.

 

[jutfrank]

As I see it, present perfect expresse the whole period, while past simple a concrete time, but there is noconcrete time with past simple in the original.

The present perfect is a present tense. It says something about how a past state or action is presently relevant. Past simple is a past tense, meant for talking about completed past events. If you can understand that, you've got it. When you hear a native speaker use the present perfect, you know she's thinking mostly about the present, and when she uses the past simpple, she's thinking about the past.