A to Z of Phrasal Verbs and Useful Vocabulary
Letter Expression Example sentence
a. admitted to The patient was admitted to our
associated with hospital in March 2008 for the
advised to first time.
advice on Mr. Booth first came to see me on
12/08/08 complaining of
allergies shortness of breath which was
allergic to worse when he was lying down. It
was associated with a tightness in
arrived at
the chest and coughing.
arrived in She was advised to return the
next day for a blood test and
follow up consultation. (verb)
For both children advice
on recommended vaccines will be
necessary. (noun)
She is not on any medication
and has no known allergies.
Please note, the patient is allergic
to penicillin.
The patient arrived at my surgery
in a depressed state.
The family arrived in Australia in
2007
b. believe I believe the patient needs
borderline urgent assessment and hospital
admission
She was noted to be
overweight and
has borderline hypertension.
c. consistent I am writing to refer Mr.
with Walker a 40 year old married
commence patient, presenting with signs and
commence symptoms consistent
on with prostatic enlargement.
IV fluids were
commenced in order to improve
hydration.
Therefore I commenced
him on omeprazol 20 mg daily
confidence
and strongly advised him to stop
in
smoking cigarettes and stop
drinking alcohol. (active)
She was commenced
on 15gram alepam 1 tablet
nightly for her current anxiety
and sleeplessness. (passive)
She lacks confidence
in caring her baby in terms of
breast feeding and bathing.
d. discharge on He will be discharged on
deteriorate the 12th of August.
deny Since 28th of July her
difficulty in condition has deteriorated with
diagnosed occasional disorientation.
with She denied vomiting and
diagnosis of she was vague reporting about
laxatives.
Mr. MacIntosh presented to
me with the complaint of difficulty
in passing urine.
I am writing to refer my
patient, Fletcher, a nine year
old Labrador cross dog who
isdiagnosed with high grade
lymhoma. (verb)
Histological results
confirmed the diagnosis of high
grade lymphoma.(noun)
e. evidence of Examination findings
enclosed revealed evidence of an enlarged
prostate.
I have enclosed the
radiograph for your convenience.
f. to follow The patient was advised to
follow a low fat diet.
h. history The patient first attended
me yesterday evening with a
one day history of lower
abdominal pain
Mr. Abrahim has a positive
family history of prostate cancer
i. indicate The family
has indicated that they need an
indicative of interpreter who speaks Farsi or
Arabic during follow-up visits with
this family.
inconspicuo
us However, there was slight
swelling in the right
groin indicative of inguinal hernia
His family and social history
is inconspicious.
k. known She is a known asthmatic
since childhood and is on
Budesonide inhaler for the same.
m. to make an I have made an
appointment appointment for her through your
receptionist.
n. on On examination , her blood
examination pressure was 180/90 mm Hg
with a regular pulse of 70 beats
per minute.
o. occasions Today she presented very
anxious and depressed as she
had noted some blood in her
motions on two separate
occasions.
p. provisional Provisional
present at diagnosis suggests prostate
present to cancer.
Mr Gates presented at my
clinic yesterday at 7pm with a
complaint of lower back pain.
Today, he presented to
me complaining of a regular dull
ache in the groin.
q. queries If you have any further
queries, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
r. reveal Examination
risk factors today revealed a significantly
a routine increased right groin swelling.
recovery His risk factors include:
reluctant to smoking 20 cigarettes per day,
rule out lack of exercise and a strong
remarkable family history of hypertension.
findings He has made a routine
recovery and his wounds appear
to be healing well.
He is reluctant to seek
treatment.
I believe she needs an
urgent assessment to rule
out bipolar disorder
There were no other
remarkable findings.
s. suggestive Miss Jones is suffering
of from the signs and
symptoms suggestive of ectopic
suspicious of pregnancy.
I am writing to refer this
suffering patient, a 60-year-old
from women,with symptoms suspicious
signs and ofbowel malignancy
symptoms Ms.Tylor has been suffering
from diabetes and she is
administering insulin injection by
herself.
He is a 40-year-old man
who is suffering from signs and
symptoms suggestive of
peritonitis with perforated gastric
ulcer.
t. treated with He also has been suffering
from hypertension which has
been treated with Atenolol 50 mg
daily.
u. underlying I would appreciate your
under assessment of this girl to find out
control whether he has
uneventful any underlyingpsychological
urgent problems.
unremarkabl Currently, her pain is under
e control with medication and she is
to undergo tolerating fluids.
treatment/surgery Her second pregnancy and
/an operation delivery were uneventful.
I would appreciate if you
could give urgent attention to
Mrs. Woods' problem.
Cardiovascular examination
was unremarkable and her
electrocardiogram was normal.
She underwent colonoscopy
three years ago which was
normal. (simple past)
During hospitalization, the
patient has undergone an
electromyogram and X-
ray. (present perfect)
v. vital signs Her vital signs were normal,
but she was overweight (85
kg). Therefore she was advised to
reduce weight and do exercise.
w. with a Mr Gates presented at my
complaint of clinic yesterday at 7pm with a
complaint of lower back pain.
Prepositions
Prepositions are a difficult area of language to fully master as their usage is not
governed by strict rules. The best way to learn prepositions is by regular reading so
that you can slowly absorb and become comfortable with their correct use.
However, it is possible to memorise the correct use of a selection of prepositions in
order to use them accurately in writing the referral letter.
Prepositions of Time
In: In is used for On: On is used for At: At is used for Some words require
longer periods of days and dates and the time of day and no preposition
time some time for some
expressions expressions
In November On Monday At 6 o'clock Yesterday
In Spring On 20 At night Today
November
In 2006 At lunchtime Tomorrow
On Christmas
day
In the past On his At that time Last week
birthday
In the future At the moment This week
On review
In the morning At the age of Next week
On 45
In the examination
afternoon At birth
On
In her investigation
childhood
On
In his twenties presentation
On two
occasions
Prepositions of Place
In: In is used for inside of On: is used for the surface At: At is used for a place of
something area of something activity
In Australia On the skin At home
In hospital On the ground floor At work
In surgery At the wound site
In the stomach At the clinic
Common Errors
Incorrect Correct
His father died of cancer during the His father died of cancer at the age
age of 50. of 50.
In examination today, the On examination today, the
patient was anxious and distressed. patient was anxious and distressed.
Initial examination on today Initial examination today
revealed inflammed gums. revealed inflammed gums.
On December 2006, the In December 2006, the
patient had his wisdom teeth patient had his wisdom teeth
removed. removed.
The patient's family arrived at The patient's family arrived in
Australia in last year. Australia last year.
