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Grammar for OET Verb Tenses Present Perfect Present perfect tense is used to describe an event which starts in the past and continues until the present. Mastery of this pattern is an essential for writing successful referral letters

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grammar for oet verb tenses present perfect prese

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Grammar for OET

Verb Tenses

Present Perfect

Present perfect tense is used to describe an event which starts in the past and continues until the present.
Mastery of this pattern is an essential for writing successful referral letters. Three common ways to form present perfect when
writing referral letters are as follows:
Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Passive
Form: have/has+ past participle Form: have/has+been+____ing (present Form: have/has +been+ past participle
participle)
• I have treated Mr. Smith at this • Mr. Smith has been treated at
hospital for 3 years. • I have been treating Mr. Smith this hospital for 3 years(..by Dr
at this hospital for 3 years. X).
• Dr X has treated Mr. Smith at • Dr X has been treating Mr. • They have been treated at this
this hospital for 3 years. Smith at this hospital for 3 hospital for 3 years(..by Dr X).
years.

Present perfect is often combined with for/since/over. Compare the usage below and note time markers used.
For Since Over
For is used to describe a period of time Since is used to refer to the start of period Over uses similar time markers to for but
of time is used to express a change in condition,
• I have been treating the patient or to describe a repeated event.
for 3 years. • I have been treating the patient
• The patient has been on this since 2007. • The patient's condition has
medication for 6 months. • The patient has been on this deteriorated over the past 3
• I haven’t seen the patient for 1 medication since January. months.(change in condition)
year. • I haven’t seen this patient since • The patient has presented
• The patient has been in pain for December 2009. several times over the last year.
5 hours. • The patient has been in pain (repeated event)
• The patient has been waiting for since 10am. • The patient's back pain has
15 minutes. • The patient has been waiting worsened over the last
• He has been complaining of since 11.45am. week.(change in condition)
back pain for a week. • He has been complaining of • He has tried to quit smoking
• He has not had bowel motions back pain since last week. several times over the past 25
for 3 days. • He has not had bowel motions years.(repeated event)
• He has been a smoker for a since Saturday. • The patient has experienced
period of 25 years. • He has been a smoker since seizures on 3 occasions over the
1985. past year.(repeated event)

Handy Tip
When using time markers such as ...for the past 20 years, ...for the last 3months, ...for the next 3 months or .... for the previous 3
months always use the definite article "the" as it its function is to specify a particular period of time.

Common Errors

Incorrect Correct
• The patient was diagnosed hypothyroidism since • The patient has had hypothyroidism since
2007 2007. (present perfect)
• The patient was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in
Explanation: Past tense cannot be used with for or since 2007. (simple past)

, • She has been problems with arthritis in her hands. • She has been having problems with arthritis in her
hands since 2007. (present perfect progressive)
Explanation: Problems in this sentence is a noun so you can • She has had problems with arthritis in her hands since
not use “been” with a noun. You must use have or has + noun 2007.(present perfect simple)
or been+ ___ing verb. You can also use been + adjective • She has been arthritic since 2007. (present perfect
simple +adjective)
• She has had arthritis since 2007. (present perfect
simple +noun)

• He is smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day for the past • He has been smoking two packs of cigarettes a day
25 – 30 years. for the past 25-30 years. (present perfect progressive)
• Over the past week she remains free from severe pain • Over the past week she has remained free from severe
and has been able to tolerate a fluid diet. pain and has been able to tolerate a fluid diet.(present
• Also, there is an ulcer on the right lower lateral perfect simple)
border of the tongue which is present for more than • Also, there is an ulcer on the right lower lateral
one year. border of the tongue, which has been present for more
• Mr. Diamond is a patient of mine since 2000 than one year. (present perfect passive)
• Mr. Eddy is a known smoker for 25-30 years. • Mr Diamond has been a patient of mine since
2000.(present perfect simple)
Explanation: The verbs in these sentences are in simple present • Mr. Eddy has been a smoker for 25 years. (present
tense. Present perfect needs to be used because you are perfect simple)
referring to a time period which started in the past and has
continued to the present.

• Mrs. Brown has been presenting to me on several • Mrs. Brown has presented to me on several occasions
occasions over the past few months. over the past few months.

Explanation: Progressive form not required.

Simple Past or Present Perfect

There is often confusion of whether to use simple past or present perfect tense. The basic rule to remember is if you are referring
a particular time in the past then you must use simple past tense. If you are referring to a period of time that starts in the past and
continues up to now use present perfect tense.

There are some common time markers used with simple past and present perfect. It is important to study, learn and use these
tenses correctly when writing referral letters as you must refer to both past events and periods of time leading to the present.
Time Markers with Simple Past Time markers with Present Perfect
• He sucked his thumb until he was 5. • He has been sucking his thumb for five years.
• Mrs. Kelly had diverticulitis when she was a • Mrs. Kelly has had diverticulitis for the last 12 years.
teenager. • He has been seeing me since 2004.
• He first came to see me in 2004. • The patient hasn’t responded to treatment yet.
• The patient didn’t respond to treatment. • The patient has shown no signs of improvement up to
• The patient was diagnosed with cancer 3 months ago. now.
• The patient stopped taking medication yesterday. • The patient has stopped taking medication recently.

Common Errors
Incorrect Correct

, • She has underwent triple coronary bypass surgery on • She underwent triple coronary bypass surgery on
10.08.09 10.08.09

Active and Passive Verb Formation

In writing a referral letter it is necessary to use a variety of verb forms including both active and passive verbs. Using active
verbs is good when you wish to create a personal tone or impart subjective information. However, passive verbs and sentence
structures enable the writer to be more objective and focus attention on what is most important in a sentence such as the patient,
procedures and treatment rather than on themselves.

Compare

1. I advised the patient to stop smoking.
2. The patient was advised to stop smoking (focus on the patient)

1. I advised her to do bed exercises to prevent further complications such as deep vein thrombosis.
2. Bed exercises were advised to prevent further complications such as deep vein thrombosis.(focus on the treatment)

1. You need to take Flucloxacillin capsules twice a day for a duration of 2 weeks.
2. Flucloxacillin capsules need to be taken twice a day for a duration of 2 weeks.(focus on the medication)

To form the passive, use the be verb (be, is/ are; was/were; has been/have been) + past participle as described in the table below.
Active Passive
Present simple Present simple

• The patient takes aspirin daily. • Aspirin is taken daily.

Present simple continuous Present simple continuous

• The patient is taking aspirin daily. • Aspirin is being taken daily.

Past simple Past simple

• The patient took aspirin daily. • Aspirin was taken daily.
• The patient took 3 tablets daily. • 3 tablets were taken daily.

Past simple continuous Past simple continuous

• The patient was taking aspirin daily. • Aspirin was being taken daily.

Present perfect Present perfect

• The patient has taken aspirin daily for a period of one • Aspirin has been taken daily for a period of one year.
year. • Aspirin, noten and normison have been taken for a
• The patient has taken aspirin, noten and normison for period of one year.
a period of one year.

Present perfect continuous Present perfect continuous

, • The patient has been taking aspirin daily. • Nil: This form is rarely used in the passive.

Past perfect Past perfect

• The patient had taken aspirin daily for a period of one • Aspirin had been taken daily for a period of one year.
year. • Aspirin, noten and normison had been taken for a
• The patient had taken aspirin, noten and normison for period of one year.
a period of one year.

Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

• The patient had been taking aspirin daily. • Nil: This form is rarely used in the passive.

Future Future

• The patient will take aspirin in the evening • Aspirin will be taken in the evening.

Modal form Modal form

• The patient should have taken aspirin in the evening. • Aspirin should have been taken in the evening.

Please review the list of common mistakes below.
Incorrect Correct
• She was performed a colostomy accompanied with a • A colostomy was performed with a partial bowel
partial bowel resection. resection.
• A colostomy was performed on the patient by the
doctor with a partial bowel resection.

The first example is better as it more concise and also it is
obvious the roles of patient and doctor so it is unnecessary to
state them.
• As per the doctor’s order, we were organized daily • As per the doctor’s order, daily home visits were
home visits. organized. (passive)
• As per the doctor’s order, we organised daily home
visits. (active)

Both sentences are grammatically correct but the first example
is preferred because it focuses attention on the procedure.
• On 9.7.06 he was presented to me for his regular • On 9.7.06 he presented to me for his regular check
check up. up. (active)

Active voice is preferred here as the patient is the subject and
most likely presented himself.
• On the subsequent visit the treatment options was • On the subsequent visit the treatment options were
discussed. discussed.

Because the noun is plural the plural verb “were” is required.

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Exam (elaborations)

Grammar for OET Verb Tenses Present Perfect Present perfect tense is used to describe an event which starts in the past and continues until the present. Mastery of this pattern is an essential for writing successful referral letters

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