Present Perfect vs Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect vs Present Perfect Continuous - Signal Words Exercises (1–25)
Use present perfect for finished results.
Use present perfect continuous for duration or ongoing activity.
Common signal words:
already, yet, just, ever, never → often present perfect
for, since, all day, recently, lately, how long → often present perfect continuous
Short forms:
I've = I have
you've = you have
he's = he has
she's = she has
haven't = have not
hasn't = has not
1. I ______ here for two hours.
have been waiting
a) have been waiting
b) have waited
[Ich warte hier seit zwei Stunden.]
2. She ______ her homework already.
has finished
a) has finished
b) has been finishing
[Sie hat ihre Hausaufgaben schon fertig gemacht.]
3. They ______ tennis since 3 o’clock.
have been playing
a) have been playing
b) have played
[Sie spielen seit 3 Uhr Tennis.]
4. We ______ that film already.
have seen
a) have been seeing
b) have seen
[Wir haben diesen Film schon gesehen.]
5. He ______ all day.
has been working
a) has been working
b) has worked
[Er arbeitet schon den ganzen Tag.]
6. I ______ my keys.
have lost
a) have lost
b) have been losing
[Ich habe meine Schlüssel verloren.]
7. She ______ German for six months.
has been learning
a) has been learning
b) has learned
[Sie lernt seit sechs Monaten Deutsch.]
8. We ______ lunch already.
have had
a) have been having
b) have had
[Wir haben schon zu Mittag gegessen.]
9. It ______ since this morning.
has been raining
a) has been raining
b) has rained
[Es regnet seit heute Morgen.]
10. They ______ the report just.
have finished
a) have finished
b) have been finishing
[Sie haben den Bericht gerade fertig gemacht.]
11. I ______ to call you all morning.
have been trying
a) have been trying
b) have tried
[Ich versuche schon den ganzen Morgen, dich anzurufen.]
12. He ______ the window.
has broken
a) has broken
b) has been breaking
[Er hat das Fenster kaputt gemacht.]
13. We ______ for the bus for 20 minutes.
have been waiting
a) have been waiting
b) have waited
[Wir warten seit 20 Minuten auf den Bus.]
14. She ______ that book three times.
has read
a) has been reading
b) has read
[Sie hat dieses Buch drei Mal gelesen.]
15. How long ______ you ______ here?
have / been living
a) have / been living
b) have / lived
[Wie lange wohnst du schon hier?]
16. I ______ this song before.
have heard
a) have heard
b) have been hearing
[Ich habe dieses Lied schon einmal gehört.]
17. They ______ the kitchen, so everything is wet.
have been cleaning
a) have been cleaning
b) have cleaned
[Sie haben die Küche geputzt, deshalb ist alles nass.]
18. She ______ her coffee already.
has made
a) has been making
b) has made
[Sie hat ihren Kaffee schon gemacht.]
19. We ______ TV since dinner.
have been watching
a) have been watching
b) have watched
[Wir sehen seit dem Abendessen fern.]
20. He ______ the answer yet.
hasn't found
a) hasn't found
b) hasn't been finding
[Er hat die Antwort noch nicht gefunden.]
21. I ______ too much coffee lately.
have been drinking
a) have been drinking
b) have drunk
[Ich habe in letzter Zeit zu viel Kaffee getrunken.]
22. They ______ the work already.
have completed
a) have completed
b) have been completing
[Sie haben die Arbeit schon abgeschlossen.]
23. She ______ for an hour, so she needs a break.
has been studying
a) has been studying
b) has studied
[Sie lernt seit einer Stunde, deshalb braucht sie eine Pause.]
24. We ______ that museum twice.
have visited
a) have been visiting
b) have visited
[Wir haben dieses Museum zweimal besucht.]
25. ______ you been working here long?
Have
a) Have
b) Has
[Arbeitest du schon lange hier?]