Present Progressive Tense Exercise

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

  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!
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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.