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
- 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. 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.