IEP 0640 Verb Tenses

Look at the following quotes from Social Networking Sites and Teens. Which verb
tense is used in each quote? Why?
1. The survey, conducted by telephone from October to November 2006, asked
about the ways teenagers use these sites and their reasons for doing so.
Simple Past. Because it is a finalized action.
2. Some 55% of online teens have created a personal profile online and 55
percent have used social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook.
Present Perfect. Because it is a action that influences the present.
Here are some explanations to help you understand the different uses of these three verb tenses.
1. Use the present perfect tense (have + past participle verb)
a. to describe an action that began in an unspecified time in the past and is still relevant today
b. with time markers like since or in the past X years.
Psychological studies have demonstrated the influence of stress on chronic
illnesses.
While some researchers have argued that stress does not affect immunity, others
have shown a direct connection between exposure to stress and lowered white
blood cell count (Thompson, 2003).
Since 2006, Dr. Zaldof has conducted several studies on the relationship between
stress and immunity (Smith, 2010).
*Notice that the implication is that the research showed this in the past and continues to show this
presently.
2. Research results can be described in the past tense because the research took place at a

3. Teens say that social networking sites help them manage their friendships.
Simple Present. Because it is true statement.

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb tense.

1. Harvard student Marc Zuckerberg and a few classmates ___have
designed___________________________ (design) Facebook in 2003.
2. Many students ___pointed out__________________ (point out) that the Internet
__lets________ (let) them express themselves and ______finds_______________
(find) like-minded souls.
3. In the past five years, such sites __________rocketed____________________ (rocket)
from a niche activity into a phenomenon that
____engaged______________________ (engage) tens of millions of Internet users.
4. The explosive growth in the popularity of these sites
___________generates________________________ (generate) concerns among some
parents.

Answer the following questions using present, past, and/or present perfect tenses.
Before Facebook, how did friends living far apart keep in touch?
Normally, friends use cellphone to call to people, and they hang out together
before
social network.
How has social networking changed peoples social lives in the past 10 years?
Social
networking changed a lot peoples social lives in the past 10
years, now it is easier to keep in touch with friends, especially, friends that live in
another city or country. Now, there are some people that prefer to talk in the social
networking rather than talking face to face.
Describe how the following groups feel about social networking:
a) grandparents
networking.

Most of grandparents do not know how to use social

b) parents
Some parents think that social networking is not so good for their
child, so they limit the access.

c) teachers
The teachers try to use social networking for help the interactions
among students, but they try to use in the best way.