Present Perfect Simple vs. Present Perfect Continuous – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are in a weekly briefing meeting with your boss. You are reporting on your project’s progress. You need to use the correct grammar to show how hard you have been working on unfinished tasks (the process) and to provide concrete numbers for what is already done (the result). Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Good morning, boss. I want to assure you that we ______ on the main presentation since 8 AM.”
(A) have worked
(B) have been working
(C) are working
(D) have working
2 “So far this morning, my team ______ 15 slides for the final pitch.”
(A) has been completing
(B) has complete
(C) has completed
(D) is completing
3 “I ______ the detailed financial report all week, but I still need another day to finalize it.”
(A) have written
(B) write
(C) am writing
(D) have been writing
4 “To keep our investors updated, I ______ more than twenty emails today.”
(A) have sent
(B) have been sending
(C) send
(D) have send
5 “We ______ about the sudden budget cuts for a few days, so we have already adjusted the plan.”
(A) have been knowing
(B) have known
(C) are knowing
(D) have know
6 “The IT department ______ the server issues all morning to prevent any data loss.”
(A) has been fixing
(B) has fixed
(C) is fixing
(D) has fix
7 “They ______ three major bugs so far, but the system is still a little bit slow.”
(A) have been resolving
(B) resolve
(C) have resolved
(D) have resolve
8 The boss asks: “Exactly how many suppliers ______ since our last meeting on Friday?”
(A) have you been contacting
(B) did you contacting
(C) are you contacting
(D) have you contacted
9 “I ______ to reach our main supplier for hours, but their phone line is always busy.”
(A) have tried
(B) have been trying
(C) try
(D) am trying
10 “I look a bit tired today because I ______ the data analytics late into the night recently.”
(A) have reviewed
(B) have review
(C) am reviewing
(D) have been reviewing
11 “I ______ that this new marketing strategy will increase our sales by at least 20%.”
(A) have always believed
(B) have always been believing
(C) am always believing
(D) have always believe
12 “We ______ five different design proposals to give the client plenty of options to choose from.”
(A) have been preparing
(B) have prepared
(C) prepare
(D) have prepare
13 “My team ______ the competitors’ prices for the last two weeks to see if we need a discount.”
(A) has monitored
(B) has been monitoring
(C) monitors
(D) is monitoring
14 “I ______ the legal contract, and it is finally on your desk ready for your signature.”
(A) have been finishing
(B) have finished
(C) finish
(D) have finish
15 “We ______ to lower the production costs with the factory, but the raw materials are still very expensive.”
(A) have tried
(B) are trying
(C) have been trying
(D) have try
16 “You can see on page 4 of the report that we ______ a total of $5,000 this month.”
(A) have been saving
(B) have saved
(C) save
(D) have save
17 “The graphic design team ______ the new company logo all week.”
(A) has sketched
(B) is sketching
(C) has sketching
(D) has been sketching
18 “They ______ three excellent versions for you to look at today.”
(A) have been creating
(B) have created
(C) create
(D) have create
19 The boss asks: “How long ______ on this specific task? We need to move on to the next phase.”
(A) have you worked
(B) are you working
(C) have you been working
(D) do you work
20 “Overall, we ______ a lot of great results this quarter despite the very tight deadlines.”
(A) have been achieving
(B) achieve
(C) have achieved
(D) have achieve
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B)
- Correct (B) have been working: The Present Perfect Continuous (PPC) is used to emphasize the ongoing, uninterrupted process of working on the presentation since 8 AM.
- Common Mistake (A) have worked: Present Perfect Simple (PPS) focuses on completion. Using it here makes it sound like the work is fully finished, losing the emphasis on the ongoing effort.
- Strong Distractor (C) are working: Present Continuous ignores the timeline “since 8 AM”.
- Structural Error (D) have working: Missing the word “been”.
2 (C)
- Correct (C) has completed: The focus is on the exact quantity achieved (“15 slides”). We use PPS for completed results and quantities.
- Common Mistake (A) has been completing: You cannot use continuous tenses to describe a finished quantity of items.
- Strong Distractor (D) is completing: Focuses on the exact present second, ignoring the completed result.
- Structural Error (B) has complete: Requires the past participle “completed”.
3 (D)
- Correct (D) have been writing: The phrase “all week” and the admission that it is not finished (“need another day”) make PPC the perfect choice to describe an unfinished, ongoing task.
- Common Mistake (A) have written: Implies the report is 100% finished, which contradicts the second half of the sentence.
- Strong Distractor (C) am writing: Ignores the “all week” duration.
- Structural Error (B) write: Present simple states a general habit.
4 (A)
- Correct (A) have sent: “More than twenty emails” is a specific completed quantity. PPS must be used.
- Common Mistake (B) have been sending: You cannot use PPC when stating exactly how many things you have finished.
- Strong Distractor (C) send: Present Simple sounds like a permanent daily habit.
- Structural Error (D) have send: Requires the past participle “sent”.
5 (B)
- Correct (B) have known: Exception! “Know” is a stative verb (a state of mind). It cannot take the “-ing” form, even with a duration (“for a few days”). We must use PPS.
- Common Mistake (A) have been knowing: Applying the continuous rule to a stative verb.
- Strong Distractor (C) are knowing: Also uses continuous for a stative verb.
- Structural Error (D) have know: Requires “known”.
6 (A)
- Correct (A) has been fixing: Emphasizes the continuous, exhausting effort (“all morning”) to keep the servers running.
- Common Mistake (B) has fixed: Sounds like a quick, finished checklist rather than an ongoing, intense process.
- Strong Distractor (C) is fixing: Focuses only on right now, not the whole morning.
- Structural Error (D) has fix: Requires “fixed”.
7 (C)
- Correct (C) have resolved: Mentions an exact completed quantity (“three major bugs”). PPS must be used.
- Common Mistake (A) have been resolving: You cannot use PPC to report a finished number of bugs.
- Strong Distractor (B) resolve: Present Simple describes a general habit.
- Structural Error (D) have resolve: Requires “resolved”.
8 (D)
- Correct (D) have you contacted: Asking “How many” focuses on the result/quantity, which requires PPS.
- Common Mistake (A) have you been contacting: You cannot ask “How many” using a continuous tense, as continuous focuses on the unfinished process, not the final count.
- Strong Distractor (B) did you contacting: Grammatically invalid mix of past simple and gerund.
- Structural Error (C) are you contacting: Present continuous does not ask about progress made up to now.
9 (B)
- Correct (B) have been trying: Trying is an ongoing, frustrating process. The fact that the line is “always busy” shows the action has been continuous and is unfinished.
- Common Mistake (A) have tried: Implies the attempt is completely over and finished, which doesn’t fit the ongoing effort.
- Strong Distractor (D) am trying: Doesn’t account for the “for hours” timeline.
- Structural Error (C) try: Present simple.
10 (D)
- Correct (D) have been reviewing: Being tired is the physical evidence of the continuous, exhausting process of reviewing data late at night recently.
- Common Mistake (A) have reviewed: PPS focuses on a completed task, rather than the exhausting ongoing action that explains the fatigue.
- Strong Distractor (C) am reviewing: Ignores the past-to-present buildup.
- Structural Error (B) have review: Requires “reviewed”.
11 (A)
- Correct (A) have always believed: Exception! “Believe” is a stative verb. It is never used in continuous tenses.
- Common Mistake (B) have always been believing: Using the “-ing” form for a verb of the mind.
- Strong Distractor (C) am always believing: Same mistake, using continuous for a stative verb.
- Structural Error (D) have always believe: Requires “believed”.
12 (B)
- Correct (B) have prepared: Focuses on the exact quantity finished so far (“five different design proposals”).
- Common Mistake (A) have been preparing: “Preparing” is not the focus when talking about a finalized number of items ready for the client.
- Strong Distractor (C) prepare: Present Simple states a general fact.
- Structural Error (D) have prepare: Requires “prepared”.
13 (B)
- Correct (B) has been monitoring: Monitoring is a long, ongoing process over “the last two weeks”. PPC highlights this continuous effort.
- Common Mistake (A) has monitored: Sounds like a quick, finished glance rather than an immersive, week-long process.
- Strong Distractor (D) is monitoring: Ignores the two-week duration.
- Structural Error (C) monitors: General habit.
14 (B)
- Correct (B) have finished: “Finishing” the contract is a final, successful result that is ready on the desk. PPS highlights this achievement.
- Common Mistake (A) have been finishing: You don’t use continuous tenses to announce a definitive, finished breakthrough.
- Strong Distractor (C) finish: Implies you do it as a routine.
- Structural Error (D) have finish: Requires “finished”.
15 (C)
- Correct (C) have been trying: Emphasizes a frustrating, ongoing process of negotiation that is not yet successful.
- Common Mistake (A) have tried: PPS loses the emphasis on the ongoing, active frustration.
- Strong Distractor (B) are trying: Ignores the duration leading up to the meeting.
- Structural Error (D) have try: Requires “tried”.
16 (B)
- Correct (B) have saved: Focuses on a finished, exact result (“a total of $5,000”).
- Common Mistake (A) have been saving: Focuses on the process, but the sentence is explicitly highlighting the final dollar amount achieved.
- Strong Distractor (C) save: Present simple states a general habit.
- Structural Error (D) have save: Requires “saved”.
17 (D)
- Correct (D) has been sketching: “Team” is singular here (“has”). Sketching is an active, ongoing creative process that has taken up “all week”.
- Common Mistake (A) has sketched: Implies the sketching is completely over.
- Strong Distractor (B) is sketching: Ignores the “all week” duration.
- Structural Error (C) has sketching: Missing “been”.
18 (B)
- Correct (B) have created: Creating three versions is a completed action with a visible result (the 3 versions). PPS is used for quantities.
- Common Mistake (A) have been creating: You cannot use PPC to count the specific number of finished versions.
- Strong Distractor (C) create: Present simple habit.
- Structural Error (D) have create: Requires “created”.
19 (C)
- Correct (C) have you been working: “How long” asks for duration. For action verbs like “work”, PPC is the most natural tense to emphasize the time spent.
- Common Mistake (A) have you worked: While grammatically possible, PPC is much more common and natural when emphasizing the ongoing duration of a task.
- Strong Distractor (B) are you working: Present Continuous cannot be used with “How long”.
- Structural Error (D) do you work: General habit.
20 (C)
- Correct (C) have achieved: Achieving results is a definitive milestone. PPS is used for broad accomplishments and final results.
- Common Mistake (A) have been achieving: You don’t use continuous tenses to summarize a final list of successful results.
- Strong Distractor (B) achieve: Present simple.
- Structural Error (D) have achieve: Requires “achieved”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When reporting to your boss, you want to sound hardworking but also productive. You must switch between the Present Perfect Simple (PPS) and the Present Perfect Continuous (PPC) to do this correctly.
1 Focus on Productivity & Results → Use PPS (have/has + V3/ed)
Whenever you want to state exactly how much or how many you have done, or to report a task that is 100% finished, use the Simple form. Bosses love numbers, and numbers require PPS.
- Question: How many clients have you called?
- Correct: I have emailed 20 clients.
- Incorrect: I have been emailing 20 clients.
2 Focus on Hard Work & Time → Use PPC (have/has + been + V-ing)
When you want to show off how long you have been working on an unfinished task, or to emphasize that the process is taking a lot of your focus and energy, use the Continuous form.
- Question: How long have you been working on this?
- Correct: I have been researching this all week! (Focus on the heavy effort).
3 The Stative Verb Trap (Exceptions)
Even if you have been thinking about a project for hours, verbs describing mental states (e.g., know, understand, believe, need, want) cannot take the Continuous form.
- Correct: We have known about the problem since Monday.
- Incorrect: We have been knowing about the problem since Monday.