Hi, I'm Jo from Specialist Language Courses, we are OET Premium Preparation Providers,
here to help you prepare for your OET exam. So in this video we're going to look at present perfect
and past simple and how we can use this in your OET writing. The material in this video
is taken from our online course OET Preparation for Nurses: Writing. It's a MOOC recently released
by SLC on the Udemy platform which has been specifically designed for nurses who want help
with the OET writing test, check out the link below for more information. Let's get started!
First of all what do you know? Take a look at these sentences,
pause the video and decide if you think they are right or wrong grammatically.
Let's take a look at the answers. So the first one, have you ever been treated in hospital?
Yes, that's correct. You're talking about any time in their life if you're asking the person
if they have at one point in their life being treated in hospital.
The response however - yes I've had an operation to remove my gallbladder in 2015,
this is not grammatically correct because we've got the phrase in 2015 we cannot use present
perfect, so we should change it to - I've had an operation to remove my gallbladder in 2015.
Let's take a look at the next one, how long was he in surgery for? Now this sentence standing
alone is fine if the operation is finished, but if we look at the response: three hours so far,
which means he's still in the operation the surgeon says it is going well now,
so in that case we need to change the first sentence, so it wouldn't be how long
was he in surgery for, it would be how long has he been in surgery for.
Let's take a look at the next one, so she hasn't seen the physiotherapist
yet he will do his rounds this afternoon, that one's fine.
Let's take a look at number four, I think I broke my arm. It hurts so much! Now,
yes the action happened in the past but it's got present results, you're saying it hurts so much
now, so when you've got a recent past action with results in the present, we tend to use
present perfect so it's not - I broke my arm, it should be - I think I have or I've broken my arm.
Let's move on, so let's talk about when we use present perfect and when we use past simple.
Present perfect we use this to talk about things where there's a connection between the past and
the present, take a look at this example: The doctor has prescribed ramipril. So the doctor
prescribed this medication at some time in the past and the patient is still taking ramipril,
that's the connection with the present. We form the present perfect using the verb have
or has if it's he has or she has and the past participle form of the verb.
We often use present perfect to talk about unfinished activities and using for and since,
for example he has been in hospital since august, so it started in august and it continues to now,
or he has been in hospital for two months, he started two months ago and continues now.
Since we use with when the action began so since last Monday, since 2015 for example, we never
used since with the duration, okay? we would never say since two months; with the duration
we use for, so for two days, for three weeks, for two months.
If an action happened in the past and is finished we cannot use present perfect,
we must use past simple so in the OET writing, when you're looking at the case notes
and when you're expanding those in sentences, if you're putting the exact
time when it happened, then you should think about using past simple, so we cannot say
he has left hospital yesterday because yesterday is finished and the action
is clearly finished. If we didn't have the word yesterday, then it might be a possible phrase to
use, meaning he's left hospital, he's at home now, but if you put the time marker use past simple.
He left hospital yesterday, past simple. So, a little bit of practice, take a look at these
two sets of sentences, so sentence one and two and sentence three and four, and I want you to pause
the video and think about what's the difference in meaning, so I'm not worried about if it's
present perfect or past simple, what different meaning is expressed? Pause the video now.
Let's take a little look, so the first one he has been admitted to hospital
Here, we don't know when he was admitted to hospital, we're assuming he's still there
now and that perhaps it was recent but we don't have any specific time added,
if we look at the second sentence - he was admitted to the hospital last night,
we've got a clear time reference, it happened last night and therefore you've used
past simple. If we look at three and four now, she has had eczema since she was a child
versus she had eczema when she was a child. There's a simple difference here, in number
three she still has eczema, in number four she no longer has eczema, it's a finished action.
Okay, past simple as I said when we're sure of when something happened we use this tense,
when there's a clear time reference, here's some examples: he was admitted last week,
he underwent surgery on October 4th, he started taking his medication yesterday.
And we usually use present perfect when the action is unfinished for example, so he has had
three physiotherapy sessions so far, it started in the past, continues to the present but perhaps
got some more action still to be taken. A second example, he hasn't responded to the treatment yet,
but it should take effect in a few days and then again here, he has gone into surgery
we expect it to finish in a few hours, so the action is unfinished.
A little bit more practice for you, I would like you to pause the video and complete these spaces
using the correct form present perfect or past simple, quick tip think about when these happens,
is there a connection to the present, is it a finished action
or is it an unfinished action? Pause the video now.
Let's take a look at the answers, so the first one is why did you choose to be a nurse? So you're a
nurse already, you made that decision in the past, okay? the choice is made, it's a finished action.
How long have you been a nurse? Now, you've started being a nurse in the
past and you're still a nurse now, so that's why we're using present perfect.
Where did you do your nursing training? Assuming you finished
your nursing degree, it's a finished action, so the question here needs to be in past simple.
And finally, have you worked in your current job for long?
Again this started in the past and because it's your current job, it continues to the present,
if you're not currently working at the moment it would be - did you work in your last job for long?
So if you want some extra practice, I would recommend
writing your answers to these sentences using present perfect or past simple, why not write
them in the comments below and let us know who you are and why you decided to become a nurse?
Final activity, have a look at these sentences, are they grammatically right
or wrong? and if they're wrong, what's the correction? Pause the video and decide now.
Ready for the answers? Here they are, so the first one, he was diagnosed with angina for three years.
Well, this could be correct if he no longer has angina, but I'm taking this context as he's still
got angina, so I would perhaps change it too - he has been diagnosed with angina for three years.
the other option you could do would be - he was diagnosed
with angina three years ago. That's another way you can express exactly the same meaning
but just using a different phrase. Number two, she has undergone surgery yesterday.
We know exactly when it happens so we cannot use present perfect, so it's not she
has undergone surgery yesterday, we need to use past simple of the verb - undergo and that is -
underwent. This is probably one of the most common mistakes that people make, is using
present perfect for medical treatments. She underwent surgery yesterday not she has undergone.
Number three is fine, because it's got a connection to the present, he has been seen by the
dietitian, we don't know exactly when, sometime in the recent past and he has a plan to follow,
he's been given an information leaflet with a diet plan. It does work with he was seen by
the dietitian but it's much better like this. And finally, on December 6th his family have initially
reported their concerns about his memory. Again, we've got the clear time reference here,
December 6th, so it's not possible to use present perfect, we use past simple. On 06/12
his family initially reported their concerns about his memory and that would be much better.
So, some Top Tips on how you can improve your grammar using present perfect and past simple.
First thing, look at OET sample letters for examples of different tenses, there are quite
a lot of sample letters on the OET website now and they're a really great resource for language.
Notice how the time referencing phrases, such as since or on admission indicate which tense to use
and very important, write example sentences in a range of contexts,
the more you use a particular structure accurately, the more natural it becomes.
Thanks for watching if you want help with your OET writing including present perfect and much,
much more, just click the link in the description box below and enrol
on our course, don't forget to check out our website and subscribe to our youtube
channel for more tips and strategies for OET success, see you next time, bye!