Present Continuous Tense Quiz

Present Continuous Tense Exercise 9 (Full Explanations — Present Progressive Practice)

This is Present Continuous Exercise, a practice set in our Present Progressive series. This quiz contains 10 fresh questions (no repeats) with carefully chosen distractors and full explanations for correct and incorrect options. Each explanation includes a short definition of the verb so you build vocabulary while mastering am/is/are + -ing for current actions, temporary situations, future arrangements and repeated actions.

Definition: Present Continuous (Present Progressive)

  • Form: am / is / are + verb-ing (e.g., I am working; she is studying; they are preparing).
  • Use: actions happening now, temporary actions, near-future plans/arrangements, changing situations, and repeated irritating actions with adverbs like always.
  • Negatives/Questions: form negatives with am not / is not (isn’t) / are not (aren’t) and form questions by inverting the subject and auxiliary: Am I…? Is she…? Are they…?.
  • To learn more about Present Continuous Tense – Visit Here

Quiz Instructions

  1. Read each question and choose the best answer out of four given options.
  2. On top, header section of the quiz, you will see the “title of the quiz,’ ‘spending-time,’ ‘value of question in points,’ and ‘number of questions.”
  3. Below on footer, you will see Full Screen mode. As the name suggests, it covers the whole screen. It will save a lot of your time attempting the quiz.
  4. You can zoom the images given in the questions.
  5. After submitting the quiz, you can see your score and compare with other users.
  6. The Full Leaderboard link will take you to a page, where you can see all users attempts.
  7. Below the quiz box, there are explanation of each options. You can study and try again.
  8. Best of Luck!
Loading quiz...

Quiz Question, Answer and Explanation

Note: Do remember in the quiz box above, the questions and options will shuffle, so they won’t have the same sequence like 1, 2, 3, or A, B, C as below.

1. They ______ user sessions to see how people interact with the new design.

A) run B) are running C) runs D) ran

Verb: run = to conduct sessions.

Correct: B) are running
Why correct: Present continuous indicates ongoing activity.

A wrong: simple present suggests habit.
C wrong: wrong form.
D wrong: past.

2. I ______ lunch at my desk today because I’m tight on time.

A) eat B) am eating C) eats D) ate

Verb: eat = to consume food.

Correct: B) am eating
Why correct: Present continuous for temporary action today.

A wrong: simple present habit; not appropriate for today’s temporary situation.
C wrong: wrong person/form.
D wrong: past.

3. The team ______ a final check of the release notes now.

A) perform B) are performing C) performs D) performed

Verb: perform = to carry out an action.

Correct: B) are performing
Why correct: Present continuous for current procedural step.

A wrong: base form not progressive.
C wrong: simple present/habit.
D wrong: past.

4. Why ______ you always ______ the same typo in those slides?

A) are, make B) do, make C) are, making D) does, make

Verb: make = to produce.

Correct: C) are / making
Why correct: Present continuous with always to highlight repeated annoying behavior.

A wrong: are make lacks -ing.
B wrong: do make unusual for this meaning.
D wrong: wrong auxiliary for you.

5. She ______ the onboarding checklist as new hires join.

A) update B) is updating C) updates D) updated

Verb: update = to add or change to be current.

Correct: B) is updating
Why correct: Ongoing activity during onboarding period.

A wrong: base form not progressive.
C wrong: simple present could be habitual; context favors continuous.
D wrong: past.

6. We ______ a quick standup in five minutes; please be ready.

A) have B) are having C) had D) has

Verb: have = to hold or host a meeting.

Correct: B) are having
Why correct: Present continuous for arranged near-future (standup in 5 mins).

A wrong: simple present might be used for timetabled events but are having is more conversational.
C wrong: past.
D wrong: wrong form.

7. They ______ the prototype user flows now to find friction points.

A) analyze B) are analyzing C) analyzes D) analyzed

Verb: analyze = to examine data for meaning.

Correct: B) are analyzing
Why correct: Present continuous for real-time examination.

A wrong: base form not progressive.
C wrong: wrong form.
D wrong: past.

8. He ______ the spreadsheet; the pivot table is not updating.

A) refresh B) is refreshing C) refreshes D) refreshed

Verb: refresh = to reload/update data.

Correct: B) is refreshing
Why correct: Present continuous describes action he’s doing at the moment.

A wrong: base form not progressive.
C wrong: simple present habitual.
D wrong: past.

9. I ______ the video call so you can share your screen.

A) mute B) am muting C) mutes D) muted

Verb: mute = to silence audio.

Correct: B) am muting
Why correct: Present continuous for an immediate action the speaker is performing.

A wrong: base form not progressive.
C wrong: wrong form.
D wrong: past.

10. We ______ a client handover meeting at 4 PM — are you joining?

A) hold B) are holding C) holds D) held

Verb: hold = to conduct an event.

Correct: B) are holding
Why correct: Present continuous for arranged future plan (4 PM).

A wrong: simple present less natural for personal arrangement.
C wrong: wrong form.
D wrong: past.