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In a language forum, I came across this contention by a native speaker:

People who have kindly given beds to visitors mustn't forget to send me details of their expenses. - CORRECT

The people who kindly gave beds to visitors mustn't forget to send me details of their expenses. - CORRECT

But this is wrong:

The people who have kindly given beds to visitors mustn't forget to send me details of their expenses.

Is it true? If it is, do you have any explanation of it?

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This is a gray area. Any native speaker would absolutely understand any of the above. Speaking as one whose first language is English, I actually had to read the "wrong" entry a couple times before it hit me what the difference was between it and the second "correct" answer.

"gave" vs. "have given" related to the timeframe involved.

When one says "gave", there is an implicit event one is referring to: "There was a recent disaster. Those who gave their beds to a stranger [as a result of said disaster]..."

"Have given" suggests anyone who has done so at any point in their lives. "Raise your hand if you have given your bed to a stranger [at any time during your life]..."

But, personally? I would consider anyone who argued this one as a pedantic dick, if I'm being honest, and I consider myself to be something of a grammar snob.

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    When there is a context available, as there normally would be, "have given" should be understood within that context. Given that I can't see why the third option would be wrong.
    – Peter
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 8:38
  • I wholly agree with you. Like I said: I had to scrape a bit to work out an interpretation that could align with OP's report of the assertion. Best example I can give is an anomaly I've noticed since moving to Kansas City, Missouri: it is common here for folk to use "whenever" in place of "when" to refer to a singular event. For instance: "whenever I graduated high school, I got my diploma." This, to me, at least, suggests the speaker refers to a potential multitude of events ("whenever I go to Costco, I eat free samples") instead of a singular ("whenever my father died I went to his wake").
    – NerdyDeeds
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 9:05
  • So why is "People who have kindly given beds" correct, but "The people who have kindly given beds" wrong? These are essentially the same construction, the only real difference I see here is the use of the definite article. I think this might be the point of contention the OP is referring to. Personally, I don't think it matters much anyway. It's a difference between "People" in general, and "The people" who did something - i.e. a slighly more specific bunch of people.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Jun 17, 2023 at 13:05

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