[general] verb tenses in this paragraph

Status
Not open for further replies.

taita87

New member
Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Italian
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
Italy
Hi guys, I am writing about a scientific subject regarding a disease in a patient. However, I don't know which tense fits better. Can you give me some advice? I highlighted the 2 verbs in red.

A female had been seen by another physician with a chief complaint of a painless palpable mass.
She underwent an excisional biopsy and the histologic examination showed a probable pattern of x.
Then she came to our hospital.

Thank you
 
Last edited:
What tense are you suggesting as an alternative?
 
The problem is I don't know if the simple past is ok after the past perfect of the first sentence. Those 4 actions (verbs) are consequent to each other, maybe I should use the simple past for all of them...
 
If the subsequent actions happened after the first action, then it's fine.

She had seen a specialist. She [then] underwent a ...
 
Past Simple in both cases. It 's just the events that took place in the past. But if you want to emphasise that one happened earlier you can use Past Perfect with undergo.
 
"A female patient had been seen by another physician with a chief complaint of a painless palpable mass.
This physician performed/ordered an excision biopsy which, on histological examination, showed a probable pattern of x.
It was then that she came to our hospital."
That's all pretty clear.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top