The students having studied the hardest have the best results

[NAL123]

This website says:

If you wish to emphasise the prior completion of the activity in the participle phrase...

Examples:​

1) The students that have studied the hardest have the best results.
2) The students having studied the hardest have the best results.

So in the above example, it is emphasised that the hard studying took place before the best results.

However, If you do not wish to emphasise in the participle phrase the prior completion of the activity, then it is more common to use the present participle.

Examples:
3) The students that have studied the hardest have the best results.
4) The students studying the hardest have the best results.

Question: Do you agree with this? Because I've seen #2 for the first time, and I'm not sure about #4.

 

[jutfrank]

#2 is unquestionably correct, yes, but #4 is debatable, in my opinion, due to the mismatch between present tense 'have' and the past meaning of the participle phrase, which makes it slightly problematic.

5) The students that studied the hardest had the best results.
6) The students studying the hardest had the best results.

This is not so problematic, since the past tense 'had' matches with the past meaning of the participle phrase.

 

[NAL123]

#4 is debatable, in my opinion, due to the mismatch between present tense 'have' and the past meaning of the participle phrase...

Do you mean "studying the hardest" has past meaning? I thought present participles, like "studying", are non finite/timeless forms of verbs. Their tense depends on the tense of the main verbs.

 

[jutfrank]

Do you mean "studying the hardest" has past meaning?

Yes, the action of studying in this context is a past action. The students studied in past time.

I thought present participles, like "studying", are non finite/timeless forms of verbs. Their tense depends on the tense of the main verbs.

Yes, that's right. However, and this is my point, when there is no other context the natural interpretation is of a continuous and present-time action. The mismatch I'm referring to is precisely the clash between the actual meaning (past completed action) and the natural interpretation (present ongoing action). At least, that's the argument that I think can be made. Now, the fact that the main verb in sentence #4 ('have') is in the present tense compounds this interpretation.

Let me say that again:

4) The students studying the hardest have the best results.

With no other context, the first interpretation of this sentence would expand to:

The students (who are) studying the hardest have the best results.

This interpretation is determined by two factors:

a) The choice of present tense 'have' as the main verb.
b) The natural (or 'default', if you prefer) interpretation of a present participle phrase is of present, ongoing time.

The third factor for interpretation would be coherence—it makes more sense to interpret the action in past time than present time, given the actual words we're using, and given that we reasonably expect studying to happen and to have finished before results arrive.