Grammatically correct? I had the pleasure of evaluating Ms. X who presents...

[Dr. R. Saroj]

I use this sentence frequently in my letters. Is this sentence grammatically correct? or need any changes like "with a greater than" and "six-month history"

I had the pleasure of evaluating Ms. Popok who presents with greater than six months history of hoarseness.

[Lucien_Librarian]

Hello Dr. Saroj

For my taste, the changes that you suggested yourself would round out the sentence quite nicely. Maybe others feel differently?

L.L.

[Yankee]

Hi Dr. Saroj

You could make your original sentence grammatically correct by adding an apostrophe: "... greater than six months' history..."

Amy

[Mister Micawber]

.
I'm sorry, but I have no idea what 'presents' means here, and I cannot see any 'pleasure' if this is a doctor's diagnosis of an illness. Unless I misread the purpose of the sentence, I think it needs major surgery:

I have examined Ms. Popok, who has had a history of hoarseness for over six months.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Pond969]

Actually MM ... 'presents with' is a common usage in medical contexts as above. You come across that construction in medical charts and papers all the time. Also, doctors, particularly when writing referrals or brief patient notes to other doctors (as opposed to formal papers, etc.) will often say they 'had the pleasure of examining ...', meaning that the patient was a pleasure to deal with, or as a way of thanking the original doctor for having referred the patient to writer in the first place.

Dr Saroj .... I would agree with your question wherein you suggest using '*a* greater than six months' history'. For something a little different, how about:

[Yankee]

Hi MM

I have heard present used this way before, too -- but only in medical contexts. Medical dictionaries mention this particular usage (among others ).

present
to appear for examination, treatment, etc. (said of a patient)

Merck Resource Library

Amy

[Yankee]

Hi Dr. Saroj

You should keep in mind that your sentence is formal and very "medicinal". If you wanted to share the same information with someone who is not a doctor, you would be better off using a sentence like MM's.

Amy

[Prezbucky]

Here's how I would write the sentence (leaving "presents" and its confusion out of the equation):

I have the pleasure of evaluating Ms. Popok, who has suffered from hoarseness for more than six months.

(suffering is not implied in the original sentence, I know, but I can't imagine hoarseness being much fun... and ya gotta love a powerful verb!)

or... more simply:

I have the pleasure of evaluating Ms. Popok, who has been hoarse for more than six months.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Alan]

It's just as well the poor woman hasn't been a little hoarse for six months!
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Don't bank on it

[Pond969]

HA HA Alan ... I'm guessing that Dr Saroj is not a veterinary surgeon.