How do you give a progress update in English?
First use the present perfect to say what is done ("We've finished the testing"), then the present continuous for what you are working on now ("We're currently working on the user guide"), and finally say what comes next ("The next step is…"). If something will be late, say so early and give a new date with "by": "We'll send it to you by Wednesday."
- Structure: done, in progress, next — delays early and with a new date.
- Key lines: "We've finished…", "We're currently working on…", "We're on track."
- German traps: "until Friday" for "by Friday", "actual status" for "current status" and "We work on it since Monday".
B1 · Customer Contact · 10 minProgress updates in English, taught brick by brick.
A structured ten-slide lesson for B1 learners. Hear what a short progress update sounds like, meet the lines for finished work, work in progress and next steps with a tutor, then practise them in interactive drills before a final quiz. The whole arc takes about ten minutes and nothing requires a signup.
- CEFR levelB1 · Intermediate
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsBusiness English, Listening, Speaking, Writing
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
What a progress update is for
When you look after a project for a client — new software, an office move, a large delivery — your client wants to know regularly where things stand. A progress update answers that question, in a meeting, on the phone or by email. It is not a novel and not a list of every task. It gives your client a clear picture in a short time: what has been achieved, what is happening now, what comes next, and whether the agreed date still holds. Three parts are enough for that. First, you say what is done. Then you say what you are working on. Finally, you name the next step and, if necessary, a delay with a new date. Each part has its typical tense: the present perfect for finished work, the present continuous for work in progress, and "will" or a fixed phrase such as "The next step is…" for what comes next. At B1 level you already know these tenses; this lesson shows you how to put them together in an update and where German speakers tend to slip: with "bis", with "seit" and with "aktuell".
02 / 06
What is done: the present perfect
For finished work, use the present perfect, that is "have" or "has" plus the past participle: "We've finished the testing." "We've set up your user accounts." "The supplier has delivered the new screens." The present perfect fits because your client cares about the result now, not about the exact time. With "already" you say that something is done by now, often earlier than expected: "We've already fixed the login problem." With "yet" you ask or say that something is not done: "We haven't received the data yet." As soon as you name a finished time — "yesterday", "last week", "on Monday" — you switch to the past simple: "We finished the testing yesterday." A sentence such as "We have finished the testing yesterday" is not correct in English, even though the German "Wir haben gestern die Tests abgeschlossen" is built exactly like that. In an update you can combine both: first the result in the present perfect, then a detail with a time in the past simple: "We've finished the testing. We fixed the last bug on Tuesday."
03 / 06
What is in progress: the present continuous
For work that is happening now, use the present continuous: "We're currently working on the user guide." "Our team is preparing the training materials." "Currently" or "at the moment" make it clear that you are describing the situation right now. In German you often just say "Wir arbeiten an der Anleitung" with no special form. In English, however, "We work on the user guide" sounds like a habit, not like the current situation. To stress how long an activity has been going on, the present perfect continuous with "since" or "for" is usually the best choice: "We've been working on the data import since Monday." "We've been testing the new version for two weeks." The German trap is especially strong here, because "Wir arbeiten seit Montag daran" is in the present tense. A sentence such as "We work on it since Monday" or "We are working on it since Monday" stands out to native speakers straight away. Remember: for an activity that is still going on, "since" or "for" usually takes "have been + -ing". With verbs such as "know", and for long-term states, the present perfect simple is common: "We've known them since 2019."
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Next steps, deadlines and delays
The last part says what comes next: "The next step is the training on Monday." "Next week, we'll install the system at your second site." Then you say where the project stands against the deadline. If everything is going to plan, say "We're on track" or "We're on schedule". If you are faster, it is "We're ahead of schedule"; if you are slower, "We're behind schedule" — usually without "the". Keeping to a deadline is "meeting a deadline": "We'll meet the deadline." If something is late, say so early and be specific. Name what is moving, by how much, and when it will be ready: "The user guide is two days behind schedule. We'll send it to you by Wednesday." If it helps, give the reason briefly — "because the supplier delivered the data late" — and a solution. For the new date you need "by", not "until": "by Wednesday" means "on Wednesday at the latest". A delay reported early with a new date is something your client can plan around; a delay they only hear about on the delivery day is not.
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German traps in a progress update
Several mistakes come straight from German. The first is "bis". "Bis Freitag" is "by Friday" in English when it is a deadline, and "until Friday" when something continues up to Friday: "We'll send the report by Friday", but "The office is closed until Friday." The second is "aktuell". English "actual" means "real" or "true"; for "aktuell" you say "current": "What's the current status?", "the current version". The third is "seit": "We've been working on it since Monday", not "We work on it since Monday". The fourth is about phrases around the deadline. "Den Termin einhalten" is "meet the deadline", not "hold the deadline". "Wir sind im Plan" is "We're on track" or "We're on schedule", not "We are in plan". And "der Stand" is not "stand" in English but "the status" or simply "where we are": "Here's where we are." None of these mistakes makes your update impossible to understand, but together they make it sound translated. Practise the correct forms in your own next update.
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The update by email
Many progress updates go out by email. The structure stays the same, just a little more organised. A clear subject line helps: "Project update: booking system – week 3". Start with a short sentence that sums up the overall status: "Overall, we're on track for the launch on the 15th." Then three short sections or bullet points can follow: "Done", "In progress", "Next steps". That way your client finds what matters to them straight away. If there is a delay, it does not belong at the end in a side clause; put it where it is easy to see, with a new date. If you need something from the client, say so directly and with a deadline: "Could you send us the final logo by Thursday?" Finally, invite questions: "Please let me know if you have any questions." In a meeting or on the phone, the same order works, only shorter: one sentence on the overall status, then done, in progress, next. If you always use the same order, your clients find your updates easy to read and to compare.