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A native speaker told me to use "shapes".

X: History has little to tell us.

Y: I disagree because it is what has happened in the past that shapes the world we live in today.

But my freelancer who is also a native speaker told me to use "has shaped".

X: History has little to tell us.

Y: I disagree because it is what has happened in the past that has shaped the world we live in today.

Which tense is better and why? In the second version, you don't find it unsatisfactory to use the present perfect twice like "has happened" and "has shaped"?

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    Either, depending on whether you wish to focus on the shaping as a past effect that is over or one that continues.
    – Michael Harvey
    Mar 15 at 10:52
  • @MichaelHarvey, thank you. The present simple "shapes" means the effect is over? Why?
    – newbie forever
    Mar 15 at 11:04

2 Answers 2

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Both tenses are acceptable. But:

  • The present simple tense implies that history constantly shaping the world is a fact.
  • The present perfect tense emphasizes the impact of history on the world from the past to the present (and possibly to the future).
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Both. Your two example sentences have slightly different readings (besides the tense). The first can be paraphrased as

As more and more things happen—and move into the past—that’s what shapes the world.

and the second as

The thing that has shaped the world we here today have inherited is what has happened in the past.

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