\"Have done\" or \"Have been doing\"?

This is an issue that almost all managers undergoing Business English training bring up, sooner or later. In this brief but focused article, I hope to shed some light on the "mystery".

"Have done" and "Have been doing" are both verb forms that belong to the Present Perfect tense, but used in slightly different contexts.

"Have done" is the Present Perfect Simple tense. It is used to talk about an action that was completed at some point in the past without focusing on the time involved or continuity of the action. It emphasizes the result, or completion of the action.

Examples in a business context using "have done":

"I have completed the sales report." (This sentence emphasizes the completion of the sales report without focusing on how long it took to finish.)

Another example: "That's the second time I have written to the client about payment." (Focuses on the completion of the mails and how many times, but not how long.)

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"Have been doing" is the Present Perfect Continuous tense, used to talk about an action that started in the past and is still continuing, emphasizing the time or how long the activity continued.

Example in a business context using "have been doing":

"We have been developing the project for over three months now." (This sentence emphasizes the ongoing nature of working on the project over a specified time period.)

Another example: "I have been negotiating with suppliers for over a month." (Emphasizes the ongoing nature of negotiating with suppliers over a specific time period.)

So, in summary:

"Have done" focuses on the completion or result of an action, and may include the number of tasks completed.

"Have been doing" emphasizes the duration of an action that started in the past and is still continuing, in other words how long the action has continued.

Note that the verbs "working" and "living" may be used in both the Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous:

"I've worked / I've been working for DigiTech for over five years."

"I've lived / I've been living in the city since we got married last year."