Problem: near-fluent writers stall on fine contrasts — facts vs happening-now, completed events vs background-in-progress, plain passive vs modal and impersonal lines. Answer in brief: each contrast is one distinction trained to reflex, then combined with advanced passive forms (modals, perfect/continuous, impersonals) for formal lines. This guide teaches the contrasts with minimal-pair drills, and OET Grammar — Course 18 trains advanced tenses and passives with referral-letter planning.
Present: facts and routines vs happening now
“She takes…” (routine truth) vs “She is taking…” (temporary course) vs “She is recovering…” (happening now). The distinction changes meaning: routines describe the patient, continuous describes the episode. Minimal pairs drilled until the choice is instant — “takes” for the repeat prescription, “is taking” for the short course, never mixed.
Past: completed events vs background in progress
“He fell” (event) vs “He was becoming unsteady” (developing background) vs “He had fallen before” (before-history). Three pasts, three jobs; advanced faults use simple for all three, flattening time. Background-in-progress is the most underused advanced form — “was deteriorating”, “was improving” carry trajectories single verbs cannot.
Master the contrasts supervised? The full OET Grammar — Course 18 trains advanced tense contrasts with modal, perfect and continuous passives plus referral planning. Explore the course →
Advanced passive: modals, perfect, continuous, impersonal
Modal (“should be reviewed”), perfect (“has been commenced”), continuous (“is being monitored”) — plus impersonal formal lines (“It is expected that…”, “There remains…”). Impersonals depersonalise appropriately for protocols and expectations: “It is expected that observations continue” carries authority no active equivalent matches. Deploy one impersonal per letter maximum — rarity is their force.
Planning the referral letter with grammar
Plan grammar with content: mark each paragraph’s zone and voice before drafting (H-past-active, T-present-mixed, C-perfect, P-future-modal-passive). Grammar planning takes three minutes and prevents ninety percent of advanced faults — the course’s planning method fuses content and verb decisions into one pass.
Minimal-pair drills
For each contrast, five pairs differing in one verb with meanings stated: “was reviewed / has been reviewed” (done-then vs done-with-relevance); “is monitored / is being monitored” (routine vs right-now). State the meaning difference aloud before checking — articulation is the drill, not the answer.
FAQs
Are impersonal lines not too stiff?
One per letter is authority; five per letter is fog. Reserve them for protocol statements and expectations, never for stories or requests.
How do minimal pairs beat rules?
Rules describe; pairs discriminate. The exam tests discrimination between close forms — exactly what pairs train.
What is in the course?
Advanced present and past contrasts with modal, perfect and continuous passives, impersonal formal lines and referral-letter planning, plus 5 complete mock tests.
The matching course
OET Grammar — Course 18 polishes to advanced: fine contrasts, full passive range, grammar-aware planning. For near-fluent writers chasing the last marks, finish here.
Sources and note
- OET Writing criteria per the official OET site: oet.com — Writing. Check current format guidance before the exam.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only).
- Examples are newly written and fictional; other valid structures exist.