Present perfect or past perfect


This is a part of my essay 


As the proverb goes,"What goes around comes around." According to this conception, the truth must be told.On the other hand, if someone is telling a lie, then he or she will use more than ten lies to compensate it, for the lie will "come back" to find the person who had told it before.


My question is should I change "who had told" to "who has told"?

asked Jun 01 '14 at 16:09 California Chen New member

1 answer


First of all, you don't understand what the proverb means.  According to this adage, there are consequences for your actions.  You reap what you sow.  You get what you give. If you cheat someone, then someday someone will cheat you.  If you lie to someone, then someone will lie to you.  If you hurt someone, then someday you will be hurt. Likewise, the adage also tells us that if you do something good, then good things will come to you.  You treat people with respect, and people will treat you with respect. 


I have never heard this stuff about telling ten more lies, so I did a little research.  (That's what you do when you want to write accurately - such as when writing an essay.)  I did find many references to the phrase "lie ten times."  Mostly these were religious in nature with Eastern or Middle Eastern influences.  That would explain why it is not a common saying in my corner of the world. One called it an adage.


You are confusing the two adages. 


Back to grammar . . .


"to compensate it" is an incorrect construction.  You compensate for it.  According to my research of the saying, this is the wrong word. This adage says that you must tell ten lies to cover up the first one.  Compensate does not mean cover up.  It means to make up for.  You might have to tell the truth ten times to compensate for one lie, but telling ten more lies will not compensate for the first one.


I would not use had or has.  The lie will come back to the person who told it

link edited Jun 01 '14 at 18:13 Patty T Grammarly Fellow

Thank you a lot :^)

California ChenJun 02 '14 at 09:35

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