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Philip has lived in Denver for ten years before he moved to the Silicon Valley to start his own company.

Philip has lived or Philip had lived?

"He moved" is a simple past tense phrase. Philip had lived sounds right because it is describing an action that happened before another action "he moved".

But present perfect seems ok as it describes that it relates to the present.

Which is the correct answer?

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Present perfect:
Philip has lived in Denver for ten years. [He still lives there and/or began living there ten years ago]

Past Perfect:
Philip had lived in Denver for ten years before he moved to the Silicon Valley.

The action of living in Denver precedes the move to Silicon Valley.

You can't have the present perfect followed by a simple past.

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