Present Continuous Tense Exercise 4 (Basic English Level)
Welcome to the Present Continuous (Present Progressive) practice quiz with full explanations of every options. This set helps you learn am/is/are + -ing formation, uses for ongoing actions, temporary activities, future arrangements, and typical negative/question forms. Every question includes a clear verb definition and a line-by-line explanation of why the correct option is correct and why each incorrect option is wrong — so you learn grammar and vocabulary together.
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
- Read each question and choose the best answer out of four given options.
- 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.”
- 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.
- You can zoom the images given in the questions.
- After submitting the quiz, you can see your score and compare with other users.
- The Full Leaderboard link will take you to a page, where you can see all users attempts.
- Below the quiz box, there are explanation of each options. You can study and try again.
- Best of Luck!
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. I ______ the presentation slides while you check the figures.
A) prepare B) preparing C) am preparing D) prepared
Verb definition: prepare = to make ready (slides).
Correct: C) am preparing
Why C is correct: First-person ongoing action: I am preparing (the slides).
Why A wrong: base form not progressive.
Why B wrong: participle requires auxiliary.
Why D wrong: past.
2. She ______ to the CEO on project timelines every Monday.
A) report B) is reporting C) reports D) reported
Verb definition: report = to give information about progress or status.
Correct: C) reports
Why C is correct: Habitual scheduled action: every Monday — simple present reports fits scheduled habit.
Why A wrong: base form not correct for 3rd person singular.
Why B wrong: is reporting could be used if it’s happening now, but the phrase “every Monday” indicates repeated scheduled action → simple present.
Why D wrong: past.
3. They ______ the new feature now; do you want to see a demo?
A) develop B) are developing C) develops D) developed
Verb definition: develop = to build or create software features.
Correct: B) are developing
Why B is correct: Present continuous for current development activity.
Why A wrong: base form not progressive.
Why C wrong: simple present, not in-progress.
Why D wrong: past.
4. Why ______ he always ______ the same error during demos?
A) is, make B) does, make C) is, making D) does, makes
Verb definition: make = to cause or produce an action or outcome.
Correct: C) is / making
Why C is correct: Present continuous with always is used to show repeated annoying action: Why is he always making the same error?
Why A wrong: is make ungrammatical; needs -ing.
Why B wrong: does make is awkward and not used to express repeated irritating behavior in this way.
Why D wrong: does makes double conjugation; ungrammatical.
5. We ______ a follow-up survey to collect feedback.
A) launch B) are launching C) launches D) launched
Verb definition: launch = to introduce or start.
Correct: B) are launching
Why B is correct: Present continuous for an activity being carried out during this period.
Why A wrong: base form not progressive.
Why C wrong: 3rd person singular.
Why D wrong: past.
6. You ______ the printer while I am out; please remind me.
A) are using B) use C) uses D) used
Verb definition: use = to operate equipment or make use of something.
Correct: A) are using
Why A is correct: Present continuous used to describe temporary action happening now or during this period.
Why B wrong: simple present suggests habit.
Why C wrong: 3rd person singular.
Why D wrong: past.
7. He ______ to the partner company tonight about the collaboration.
A) speak B) is speaking C) speaks D) spoke
Verb definition: speak = to communicate verbally.
Correct: B) is speaking
Why B is correct: Present continuous used for planned near-future arrangement: is speaking tonight.
Why A wrong: base form not used for progressive.
Why C wrong: simple present might be used for timetabled events but less natural here.
Why D wrong: past.
8. We ______ the backlog items this week to prioritize tasks.
A) review B) are reviewing C) reviews D) reviewed
Verb definition: review = to evaluate or examine.
Correct: B) are reviewing
Why B is correct: Present continuous for work happening during the week.
Why A wrong: base form not progressive.
Why C wrong: 3rd singular.
Why D wrong: past.
9. Why ______ she ______ the chart again and again?
A) is, redraw B) does, redraw C) is, redrawing D) does, redraws
Verb definition: redraw = to draw again or change a chart.
Correct: C) is / redrawing
Why C is correct: Present continuous for repeated current action—question form: Why is she redrawing the chart?
Why A wrong: is redraw incorrect; needs -ing.
Why B wrong: does redraw not natural for current action.
Why D wrong: does redraws ungrammatical.
10. I ______ on this budget all afternoon; it’s taking longer than expected.
A) work B) am working C) works D) worked
Verb definition: work = to perform tasks.
Correct: B) am working
Why B is correct: Present continuous used for an action ongoing throughout a period (all afternoon).
Why A wrong: simple present habit, not current ongoing process.
Why C wrong: 3rd person simple present.
Why D wrong: past.