Question

When do I used the past tense vs. present tense?

For instance, if I am writing a letter to an organisation:

I have been to your store today and I see...
I had been to your store today and I saw...

Which is one is correct? Can someone explain when I should be using past tense or present tense?

Answer 1

I have been to your store today and I see...

Explanation:

You use the present tense because of the word "today." Today means it happened now or recent enough to be considered now. To use the second sentence, you might want to do something like this: I had been to your store yesterday and I saw...