Nicht vergessen: Regeln sind Leitlinien – sie sind nur selten absolut.

Present Perfect Simple vs. Continuous – Complex States and Actions (101–125)

Present Perfect Simple vs. Continuous

Page 4: Complex States and Active Verbs

Grammar Explanation

Use the Present Perfect Simple for state verbs that describe facts, value, measurement, connection, or what something contains. Use the Present Perfect Continuous for active verbs when the focus is on duration or an activity continuing up to now.

Verb Type Examples Usual Form
State verbs contain, include, cost, owe, depend on, matter Present Perfect Simple
Active verbs pack, repair, check, weigh, measure, work Present Perfect Continuous
Common Mistakes:
❌ This box has been containing old toys for years.
✅ This box has contained old toys for years.

✅ They have been packing the boxes all morning.
Score: 0 / 25

1. This box ______ these books for years. (State: Inclusion)
a) has contained
b) has been containing [Diese Kiste enthält diese Bücher seit Jahren.]

2. They ______ boxes since breakfast. (Action: Packing)
a) have packed
b) have been packing [Sie packen seit dem Frühstück Kisten.]

3. It ______ a lot to fix the car. (State: Cost)
a) has cost
b) has been costing [Es hat viel gekostet, das Auto zu reparieren.]

4. The mechanic ______ the car all afternoon. (Action: Repairing)
a) has repaired
b) has been repairing [Der Mechaniker repariert den ganzen Nachmittag das Auto.]

5. He ______ me money since last month. (State: Owe)
a) has owed
b) has been owing [Er schuldet mir seit letztem Monat Geld.]

6. We ______ the costs all morning. (Action: Checking)
a) have checked
b) have been checking [Wir überprüfen den ganzen Morgen die Kosten.]

7. The team ______ of five people until now. (State: Makeup)
a) has consisted
b) has been consisting [Das Team bestand bis jetzt aus fünf Personen.]

8. The team ______ on the new project for two weeks. (Action: Working)
a) has worked
b) has been working [Das Team arbeitet seit zwei Wochen an dem neuen Projekt.]

9. Your opinion ______ to me since the start. (State: Matter)
a) has mattered
b) has been mattering [Deine Meinung war mir von Anfang an wichtig.]

10. They ______ about your opinion for an hour. (Action: Talking)
a) have talked
b) have been talking [Sie sprechen seit einer Stunde über deine Meinung.]

11. The price ______ lunch for the last week. (State: Inclusion)
a) has included
b) has been including [Der Preis hat in der letzten Woche das Mittagessen beinhaltet.]

12. The chef ______ lunch since ten o’clock. (Action: Preparing)
a) has prepared
b) has been preparing [Der Koch bereitet seit zehn Uhr das Mittagessen vor.]

13. You ______ a promotion for a long time. (State: Deserve)
a) have deserved
b) have been deserving [Du hast schon lange eine Beförderung verdient.]

14. You ______ very hard lately. (Action: Working)
a) have worked
b) have been working [Du arbeitest in letzter Zeit sehr hart.]

15. The bag ______ five kilos since I filled it. (State: Weight)
a) has weighed
b) has been weighing [Die Tasche wiegt fünf Kilo, seit ich sie gefüllt habe.]

16. The assistant ______ the bags for twenty minutes. (Action: Weighing)
a) has weighed
b) has been weighing [Der Assistent wiegt seit zwanzig Minuten die Taschen.]

17. She ______ her mother more and more lately. (State: Resemble)
a) has resembled
b) has been resembling [Sie hat ihrer Mutter in letzter Zeit immer ähnlicher gesehen.]

18. She ______ at old family photos all evening. (Action: Looking)
a) has looked
b) has been looking [Sie schaut sich den ganzen Abend alte Familienfotos an.]

19. The project ______ a lot of hard work. (State: Involve)
a) has involved
b) has been involving [Das Projekt war mit viel harter Arbeit verbunden.]

20. They ______ on the project for months. (Action: Working)
a) have worked
b) have been working [Sie arbeiten seit Monaten an dem Projekt.]

21. I ______ you an apology for a week. (State: Owe)
a) have owed
b) have been owing [Ich schulde dir seit einer Woche eine Entschuldigung.]

22. I ______ to explain it all week. (Action: Trying)
a) have tried
b) have been trying [Ich versuche die ganze Woche, es zu erklären.]

23. Success ______ on your effort. (State: Depend)
a) has always depended
b) has always been depending [Erfolg hat schon immer von deiner Anstrengung abgehangen.]

24. They ______ for the exam since Monday. (Action: Studying)
a) have studied
b) have been studying [Sie lernen seit Montag für die Prüfung.]

25. The report ______ ten pages of data. (State: Contain)
a) has contained
b) has been containing [Der Bericht enthielt zehn Seiten Daten.]