Present Perfect Simple vs. Continuous

1. I ______ him since we were children. have known
a) have known
b) have been knowing [Ich kenne ihn, seit wir Kinder waren.]

2. She ______ about the problem all morning. has been thinking
a) has thought
b) has been thinking [Sie denkt schon den ganzen Morgen über das Problem nach.]

3. He ______ in ghosts all his life. has always believed
a) has always believed
b) has always been believing [Er hat sein ganzes Leben lang an Gespenster geglaubt.]

4. They ______ the instructions for half an hour. have been reading
a) have read
b) have been reading [Sie lesen seit einer halben Stunde die Anweisungen.]

5. I ______ the answer now. have understood
a) have understood
b) have been understanding [Ich habe die Antwort jetzt verstanden.]

6. We ______ this grammar point since nine o’clock. have been practising
a) have practised
b) have been practising [Wir üben diesen Grammatikpunkt seit neun Uhr.]

7. I ______ your name! have forgotten
a) have forgotten
b) have been forgetting [Ich habe deinen Namen vergessen!]

8. He ______ for the right answer all afternoon. has been looking
a) has looked
b) has been looking [Er sucht den ganzen Nachmittag nach der richtigen Antwort.]

9. She ______ that she was wrong. has finally realized
a) has finally realized
b) has finally been realizing [Sie hat endlich eingesehen, dass sie im Unrecht war.]

10. They ______ the question for twenty minutes. have been discussing
a) have discussed
b) have been discussing [Sie diskutieren seit zwanzig Minuten die Frage.]

11. We ______ with you on this point. have always agreed
a) have always agreed
b) have always been agreeing [Wir haben dir in diesem Punkt immer zugestimmt.]

12. I ______ this new method for a few weeks. have been trying
a) have tried
b) have been trying [Ich probiere diese neue Methode seit ein paar Wochen aus.]

13. How long ______ the truth? have you known
a) have you known
b) have you been knowing [Wie lange kennst du die Wahrheit schon?]

14. She ______ notes since the lesson started. has been writing
a) has written
b) has been writing [Sie macht Notizen, seit die Stunde begonnen hat.]

15. I ______ what you are saying. have understood
a) have understood
b) have been understanding [Ich habe verstanden, was du sagst.]

16. He ______ for his exam all week. has been studying
a) has studied
b) has been studying [Er lernt die ganze Woche für seine Prüfung.]

17. He ______ that story for years. has remembered
a) has remembered
b) has been remembering [Er hat sich jahrelang an diese Geschichte erinnert.]

18. They ______ the same mistake again and again. have been making
a) have made
b) have been making [Sie machen immer wieder denselben Fehler.]

19. I ______ that he was a good man. have always thought
a) have always thought
b) have always been thinking [Ich habe schon immer gedacht, dass er ein guter Mann ist.]

20. We ______ about his idea since lunch. have been talking
a) have talked
b) have been talking [Wir sprechen seit dem Mittagessen über seine Idee.]

21. I ______ her for a very long time. have known
a) have known
b) have been knowing [Ich kenne sie schon sehr lange.]

22. The students ______ questions for the last ten minutes. have been asking
a) have asked
b) have been asking [Die Schüler stellen seit zehn Minuten Fragen.]

23. We ______ the importance of exercise. have realized
a) have realized
b) have been realizing [Wir haben die Wichtigkeit von Sport erkannt.]

24. She ______ the presentation since this morning. has been preparing
a) has prepared
b) has been preparing [Sie bereitet seit heute Morgen die Präsentation vor.]

25. They ______ their promise. have not forgotten
a) have not forgotten
b) have not been forgetting [Sie haben ihr Versprechen nicht vergessen.]