Current projects: describing ongoing work

90 min

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Think about these questions before reading. Share your ideas with a partner.

What is an interesting project you are working on right now at your job or in your studies?
When you have many different tasks to do, how do you stay organized and manage your time?
Think about a team project you worked on in the past. What made it successful or difficult?

Giving a Project Update

Listen to the dialogue. Notice how the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson are used.

Answer these questions in your own words. Support your answers with evidence from the article.

01What project is Marco giving Emma an update about?

Sample answerHe is giving an update on the new marketing campaign.

02What problem did Marco's team experience with the project?

Sample answerThey ran into a small problem with the video production.

03What is Marco working on at the moment?

Sample answerHe is preparing the presentation for the client meeting and finalizing the slides.

04What does Marco plan to do after he finishes the presentation?

Sample answerHis next step is to touch base with the design team to check their progress.

Key vocabulary for ongoing projects

Vocabulary

These expressions will help you give updates and describe your work more effectively.

Examples

get a project off the ground — to start a project or plan successfully, especially after a lot of preparation.

This is a common idiom for the early stages of work. Example: 'We're holding a meeting to get the new marketing campaign off the ground.'

be on track — to be making good progress and likely to achieve something as planned.

Use this to give a positive update. You can say you are 'on track to finish' or 'on track with the budget'. Example: 'Everything is going well, and we're on track to finish by Friday.'

run into a problem — to experience an unexpected difficulty.

This is a natural way to talk about challenges. It's slightly more informal than 'encounter an issue'. Example: 'We've run into a problem with the supplier.'

meet a deadline — to finish a task by the agreed time or date.

This is a very common collocation in work and study. The opposite is 'miss a deadline'. Example: 'I'm working extra hours to meet the deadline for the presentation.'

touch base with someone — to talk to someone for a short time to find out how they are or what they think about something.

This is a friendly, professional phrase for a quick check-in. It's often used for updates. Example: 'I'm calling to touch base with you about the project.'

Complete the sentences with words from the box. One word is extra.

Word bank

01Everything is going as planned, so I'm confident we are on to achieve our quarterly goals.

02The final for submitting the proposal is next Monday, so we need to work quickly.

03I need to touch with the design team to see their latest mock-ups.

04We've run into a serious with the software; it keeps crashing.

05It took months of planning, but we finally got the new marketing campaign off the .

Grammar: Present continuous for ongoing projects

Grammar

We use the present continuous (am/is/are + verb-ing) to talk about actions that are happening now or around the present time. It's perfect for describing projects or temporary situations at work that have started but are not finished yet.

Examples

This quarter, we are developing a new marketing campaign.

This shows the project is in progress and not yet finished.

I usually work in the office, but I am working from home this week.

Use the present continuous for temporary situations, not for permanent routines (I work).

He is preparing his presentation for the board meeting on Friday.

This action is happening around now, even if not at this exact second.

Key points

Use for actions in progress now or around now.
Use for temporary situations, not permanent routines.
Avoid using state verbs (like know, want, believe) in the continuous form.

Find the mistake

Each sentence contains one error. Find and correct it.

01At the moment, our team prepares a presentation for the new clients.

Corrected version

At the moment, our team ~~prepares~~ is preparing a presentation for the new clients.

02I think we are on the track to finish the report by Wednesday.

Corrected version

I think we are on ~~the~~ track to finish the report by Wednesday.

03The data analysis we are doing show that our strategy is working.

Corrected version

The data analysis we are doing ~~show~~ shows that our strategy is working.

04We ran into a problem, so we might not make the deadline.

Corrected version

We ran into a problem, so we might not ~~make~~ meet the deadline.

05I need to touch base to you later about the project budget.

Corrected version

I need to touch base to with you later about the project budget.

06It's taking a long time to get this project off a ground.

Corrected version

It's taking a long time to get this project off a the ground.

Useful phrases: giving a project update

Vocabulary

When your manager asks for an update in a meeting, it's useful to have clear phrases to structure your response. These phrases will help you sound professional and confident when describing your work.

Examples

'Right, so just to give you an update on the Q3 report...' — a clear and professional way to start your update.

Register: Neutral. Use this to begin speaking after your manager asks for an update. You can replace 'the Q3 report' with your specific project name.

'So far, so good.' — this means that everything is going well up to this point.

Register: Informal/Neutral. A very common and natural way to say you haven't had any major problems yet. It sounds positive and confident.

'We've hit a slight issue with the supplier.' — a polite and professional way to introduce a problem.

Register: Neutral. The word 'slight' makes the problem sound small and manageable. It's a softer alternative to 'we have a problem'.

'At the moment, I'm focusing on the data analysis.' — to describe your main task right now.

Register: Neutral. This uses the present continuous, which is perfect for talking about a current, temporary action or a 'work in progress'.

'The next step for me is to draft the email.' — to clearly state what you plan to do next.

Register: Neutral/Formal. Use this to show your manager that you have a clear plan and are thinking ahead. It shows you are organized.

'Overall, we're in a good position.' — a good phrase to summarize and end your update positively.

Register: Neutral. Use this at the end of your update, especially after mentioning a small issue, to show that the project is still generally successful.

Project management phrases

Learn some common phrases for talking about work projects.

Match the phrases on the left with their definitions on the right.

Drag or click to match

Definitions

Words to take with you

Vocabulary

These expressions are not in the article but will help you discuss this topic more fluently.

Examples

be ahead of schedule — to progress more quickly than planned.

Use this to give a positive update about your project's timing. Example: 'Thanks to the team's hard work, we're actually ahead of schedule.'

delegate tasks — to give a particular piece of your work or responsibility to someone else.

This is common in teamwork or management. You delegate tasks to someone. Example: 'The project manager is good at delegating tasks to the right people.'

stay within budget — to not spend more money than the amount that was planned for a project.

This phrase is essential for talking about the financial side of a project. The opposite is 'to go over budget'. Example: 'It's important that we stay within budget for this event.'

give the green light — to give permission for a project or plan to start.

This is a common, slightly informal idiom. You can 'give the green light' or 'get the green light'. Example: 'As soon as management gives us the green light, we can start hiring.'

a bottleneck — a problem in one part of a process that slows down the whole process.

This is a useful word for explaining the cause of a delay. Example: 'The approval process is a real bottleneck; it's holding everything up.'

Discuss these questions with a partner. Try to use vocabulary from the lesson.

Imagine your team is not on track to meet a deadline. Is it better for the manager to touch base with the team every day, or is it better to give them space to solve the problem themselves? Why?
In your country, what is the most common reason why a new project might run into a problem or fail to get off the ground? Is it usually because of money, people, or bad planning?
Think about your own skills. Which is more difficult for you personally: the creative part of planning a project, or the practical part of making sure everything stays on track?