OET Guidance by Dr Tufail

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𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝

𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐎𝐄𝐓

In English grammar, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 and 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 both use the verb 𝐡𝐚𝐝, but they’re used differently in terms of 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. Let’s break it down, and then see how they can be used in 𝗢𝗘𝗧.

1. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 — 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞
Used to describe something that happened or existed in the past.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆

I had a fever last night.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
The patient is talking about a fever that occurred in the recent past (last night).

2. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 — 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭
Used to describe something that 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆
1. When he came to the clinic, he had already had the chest pain for two days.
2. he had had chest pain since Monday.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
The patient is saying they experienced chest pain 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 they came to the clinic.
Here, 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 is used because we are referring to a point in the past 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 2
Doctor: Had you had any allergic reactions before this one?
Patient:Yes, I had had a mild reaction to penicillin a few years ago.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
Had had is used to describe the earlier allergic reaction, before the current one being discussed.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 3
Patient: I had surgery last year.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
"I had surgery" refers to a single event in the past — simple past.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 4
Doctor: Before the heart attack, had you had any warning symptoms?
Patient: Yes, I had had chest tightness and shortness of breath for a week.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
"Had had" is used because the symptoms happened before the heart attack (which is also in the past).

"𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬" 𝐕𝐒 "𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝"
𝟭. "𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀" — 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 / 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 (𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲)
Usually refers to something that exists or is happening now.

𝟮. "𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗱" — 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁
Describes something that started in the past and continues into the present, or something that happened at an unspecified time before now, often with relevance to the present situation.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 1: "𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔"
Doctor: "He has a history of diabetes."
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
The word "has" is used to indicate current status or a current medical condition.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 2: "𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔" (𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏)
"He has a fever and a fast heart rate."
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
Describes what the patient is experiencing now — present simple.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 3: "𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅" (𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕)
"He has had three episodes of chest pain this week."
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
This tells us that in the recent past, up until now, he experienced three episodes. The focus is on the effect or relevance in the present.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 4: "𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅" (𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚)
"He has had asthma since childhood."
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
The condition started in the past and continues to the present.

𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 5: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕
A: "He has high blood pressure."
(= It is his current condition.)

B: "He has had high blood pressure for ten years."
(= He developed it ten years ago and still has it now.)