Grammar in Use: Dentistry

Part 1

In this lecture:
We will review some of the most important

English grammatical structures which are

used in medical environment.
You will watch educational videos on dental
topics and then write down the relevant
grammatical structures which have been
discussed in the course of this lecture.
The outline of this lecture will be an obligatory
requirement for your Final Module Control.

Plan of the lecture:

I. Verb tenses (Active voice):
1)
Present Continuous
2)
Present Simple
3)
Present Perfect
4)
Present Perfect Continuous
5)
Future Simple
6)
Future Continuous
7)
Future Perfect
8)
Past Simple
9)
Past Continuous
10) Past Perfect
II. Modal verbs: can, may, must, should.
III. Passive voice.
IV. Types of questions: general, special, alternative, disjunctive.

 Present continuous shows an action that is happening in the present

time at or around the moment of speaking.

verb to be + gerund of the verb:

am / are / is + verb + -ing
I
he, she, it
you, we, they

am
is
are

Ving
(studying,
writing)

I am delivering the lecture at the moment.

Students are writing down the grammar material now.
It is 7.00 in the morning. Dr. Smith is in his new car on
his way to the hospital. He is driving to the hospital.
Dr. Smith is examining the patient now.
Dr. Smith's colleague is performing the root canal
therapy.

Present continuous is used in the

following situations:
Something that is happening around or close to the time of
speaking, but not necessarily exactly at the time of
speaking:
I am writing an interesting article on pulpitis. I'll lend it to you
when I've finished it.
Something that is happening for a limited period of time
around the present (e.g. today, this week, this season, this
year. . .):
The students are working hard this term.
Changing situations:
The patient is getting better with the new treatment.
His blood pressure is rising very fast.

 Shows an action that happens again and

again (repeated action) in the present time,

but not necessarily at the time of speaking.

Tenses: Present Simple

Dr. Smith works at the dental clinic.
I teach English for future medical professionals.
I (you, we, they) write
He (she, it)

writes

We add endings -s (-es, -ies) for the third

person singular (he, she, it or their equivalents:

the student, the doctor, the nurse, etc.)

There are three ways to make the

S-form:
by adding s to the end of a verb

(run -> runs, sit -> sits, see -> sees, play -> plays)
by adding es to the end of the verb that has
a sibilant sound ss, ch, x, tch, sh, zz
(watch -> watches, guess -> guesses, mix ->
mixes)
by changing final -y to -ies after a
consonant+y
(study -> studies, party -> parties, fly -> flies)

Present Simple is used:

To talk about something that happens all the time or
repeatedly or something that is true in general.
Oral hygienists provide information as to the dental care.
Nurses take care of patients.
Cigarettes cause lung cancer.
To say how often we do things:
I begin to operate at 8.30 every morning.
Dr. Taylor does endodontics two times a week.
How often do you go to the dentist? Twice a year.
The simple present is often used with adverbs of frequency
such as always, often, sometimes, rarely, never,
every week, twice a year.

The present simple tense has the

following forms:
Affirmative:
I work here.
He works here.
Negative:
I/we/you/they do not (don't) work here.
He/she/it
does not (doesn't) work here
Interrogative:
Do I/we/you/they
work here?
Does he/she/it
work here?

Present Perfect
Have/has + past participle of the verb.
Regular verbs: ending -ed - examined
Irregular verbs: the third form of the verb write wrote written

I
have
he, she, it
has
you, we, they
have
I have examined this patient.
He has written the prescription.

V3
(examined,
written)

 To talk about the present result of a past action.

To talk about a recent happening.

Present Perfect is used:

We can use the present perfect with the following

particles:
Just: Dr. Smith has just arrived at the hospital.
Already: The second-year student has already
finished her presentation.
A period of time that continues up to the present
(an unfinished period of time):
We use the expressions: today, this morning, this
evening, this week . . .
I have examined 5 patients today.

Present Perfect is used:

Something that we are expecting. In this situation we use

yet to show that the speaker is expecting something to

happen, but only in questions and negative sentences: Dr.
Smith has not arrived yet.
Something you have never done or something you have not
done during a period of time that continues up to the present:
I have not done root canal treatment since I was a resident.
We also use the present perfect with these expressions:
Superlative: It is the most interesting case I have ever seen.
The first (second, third . . .) time . . . :
This is the first time that I have seen a patient with acute
necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis.

Shows an action that began in the past and

has gone on up to the present time.

Present Perfect Continuous

Have/has been + gerund.
To talk about an action that began in the past

and has recently stopped or just stopped:

You look tired. Have you been studying?
Yes, I have been studying the new clinical case.
To ask or say how long something has been
happening:
Dr. Smith has been working in the project from its
inception.

Present Perfect Continuous

We use the following particles:
How long . . .? (to ask how long).
For, since (to say how long):
How long have you been working as a

dentist? I have been working as a dentist for

ten years.
I have been working as a dentist since 1998.

To talk about a future happening or a future

situation.

Future Simple
I/We/you/they/he/she/it + will + verb
I will send you a copy of the latest article on

oral cancer as soon as I get it.

She will attend the European Congress next
year.
Dentistry will be very different in a hundred
years time.

 To say that we will be in the middle of

something at a certain time in the future.

Future Continuous
Will be + gerund of the verb (verb +ing)
This time tomorrow morning he will be

attending the conference on medications and

the CNS.
I will be examining this patient tomorrow at 3
p.m.

 To say that something will already have the

result before a certain time in the future.

Future Perfect
Will have + past participle of the verb.

I think the doctor will already have arrived by

the time we begin the procedure.

Our doctor will have consulted you by the
end of the week.
You will have received the schedule by 5
oclock.

Past Simple
To talk about actions or situations in the

past (they have already finished):

I enjoyed the course of Anatomy last term.
To say that one thing happened after
another:
Yesterday we had a terrible duty.
To talk about happenings and actions that
are not connected with the present (historical
events):
Fleming discovered penicillin.

Past Simple
The simple past has the following forms:
Affirmative:
The past of the regular verbs is formed by adding

-ed to the infinitive (treated).

The past of the irregular verbs has its own form
(write wrote).
Negative:
Did/didn't + the base form of the verb.
Questions:
Did I/you/. . . + the base form of the verb

 To say that someone was in the middle of doing

something at a certain time.

Past Continuous
Was/were + gerund of the verb.

This time last year I was writing an article on

lipid metabolism.
The doctor was examining the patient when the
nurse entered the ward.
The dentist was measuring the depth of
periodontal pocket at 6 oclock yesterday.
When I entered the hospital, many patients were
waiting in the corridor.

Past Perfect
Shows an action that happened in the past

before another past action.

Had + past participle of the verb.

Past Perfect is used:

To say that something had already

happened before something else

happened:
When I arrived at the meeting, the chairman
had already begun his presentation.
We use adverbial modifiers of time: by 5
o'clock, by the end of the year:
He had sent his abstracts to the Congress
by the 1st of June.

MODAL VERBS

Modal verb

Meaning

Example

Can
(past form could)

ability

One can classify developmental

abnormalities of teeth into several
categories

May
(past form might)

permission
or
possibility

Genetic
factors
may
cause
abnormalities of tooth development

Must
(past form had to)

obligation

For treating class III malocclusion,

a direct cause must be identified

Should
(past form should
have + past
participle)

advice

You should give up smoking

MODAL VERBS
Overcrowding of teeth can cause dental caries and

gingivitis.
Anomalies of bite can be hereditary.
Enamel hypocalcification may affect all teeth in the
dentition.
The patient may leave the hospital.
The patient must follow the doctors prescription.
Dental diseases must be promptly diagnosed and
treated at the early stages.
You should follow the doctors instructions.

Video: Root Canal Treatment