Present Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are working at an office. The phone rings, and someone asks to speak with your colleague. However, your colleague is currently busy. You need to explain why they cannot come to the phone right now by describing what they are doing.
Choose the best option to complete each sentence.
1 Mr. Smith is busy. He ______ on the other phone line.
(a) talks
(b) is talking
(c) talking
2 Sarah cannot answer the phone. She ______ a meeting right now.
(a) is having
(b) has
(c) is haveing
3 The manager is not in his office. He ______ lunch at the moment.
(a) eating
(b) eats
(c) is eating
4 I am sorry, David ______ right now. Can he call you back?
(a) is driving
(b) is driveing
(c) drives
5 Mary cannot come to the phone. She ______ some copies.
(a) makes
(b) is making
(c) is make
6 The technicians ______ the internet router, so they cannot help you.
(a) are fixing
(b) is fixing
(c) fix
7 Please wait. The boss ______ your report at the moment.
(a) is reading
(b) reads
(c) are reading
8 They cannot meet you now because they ______ a new assistant.
(a) interview
(b) are interviewing
(c) interviewing
9 Ms. Jones is out of the office. She ______ to London today.
(a) is traveling
(b) travel
(c) are traveling
10 The accountants ______ the budget right now. Please call back later.
(a) calculate
(b) is calculating
(c) are calculating
11 I cannot transfer your call. The directors ______ an important problem.
(a) are discussing
(b) discuss
(c) is discussing
12 John is not available. He ______ another customer.
(a) helps
(b) is helping
(c) helping
13 Our receptionist is busy. She ______ a long email.
(a) is typing
(b) is typeing
(c) types
14 Mr. Lee ______ today. He is at the hospital.
(a) doesn’t work
(b) isn’t working
(c) not working
15 Everyone in the sales team ______ a conference right now.
(a) are attending
(b) is attending
(c) attends
16 The CEO cannot see you. She ______ for a presentation.
(a) is prepareing
(b) is preparing
(c) prepares
17 Nobody ______ the phone in that department because they are all at lunch.
(a) answers
(b) are answering
(c) is answering
18 The cleaning staff is busy. They ______ the floor.
(a) are moping
(b) mop
(c) are mopping
19 My colleague ______ a coffee from the cafe downstairs. He will be back soon.
(a) gets
(b) is getting
(c) is geting
20 I am sorry, but the manager and his assistant ______ the warehouse right now.
(a) are checking
(b) is checking
(c) check
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) is talking
- Why it’s correct: The subject “He” requires the auxiliary verb “is” + V-ing. The action is happening right now, preventing him from taking the call.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is the Present Simple (routine), which doesn’t explain why he is busy at this exact moment. (c) is missing the “be” verb (is).
2 (a) is having
- Why it’s correct: “She” takes “is”. The verb “have” drops the silent “e” before adding “-ing” (having).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) incorrectly keeps the silent “e” (haveing).
3 (c) is eating
- Why it’s correct: “He” takes “is” + V-ing to describe the ongoing action happening “at the moment”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is missing the “be” verb. (b) is Present Simple.
4 (a) is driving
- Why it’s correct: “David” (he) takes “is”. The verb “drive” drops the silent “e” (driving).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) fails to drop the “e” (driveing). (c) is Present Simple.
5 (b) is making
- Why it’s correct: “She” takes “is”. “Make” drops the silent “e” (making).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) forgets the “-ing” suffix.
6 (a) are fixing
- Why it’s correct: “The technicians” is plural (they), so we must use “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) incorrectly uses the singular “is”. (c) is Present Simple.
7 (a) is reading
- Why it’s correct: “The boss” is singular (he/she), taking “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) uses the plural “are”.
8 (b) are interviewing
- Why it’s correct: The subject “they” requires “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the “be” verb (are).
9 (a) is traveling
- Why it’s correct: “She” takes “is” + V-ing. (Note: traveling is US spelling, travelling is UK spelling; both are correct, but “is” must be present).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) uses the plural “are”.
10 (c) are calculating
- Why it’s correct: “The accountants” is a plural noun, requiring “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) incorrectly uses the singular “is”.
11 (a) are discussing
- Why it’s correct: “The directors” is plural, taking “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) uses the singular “is”.
12 (b) is helping
- Why it’s correct: “He” takes “is” + V-ing to show the current action keeping him busy.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the auxiliary verb “is”.
13 (a) is typing
- Why it’s correct: “She” takes “is”. “Type” drops the silent “e” (typing).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) keeps the silent “e” (typeing), which is a spelling error. (c) is Present Simple.
14 (b) isn’t working
- Why it’s correct: A temporary absence from work today is expressed with the Present Continuous negative (“is not” or “isn’t”).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple (doesn’t work), which would mean he never works there or is unemployed. (c) is missing the “be” verb.
15 (b) is attending
- Why it’s correct: Indefinite pronouns like “Everyone” or “Everybody” are always grammatically singular, so they take “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses “are”, which is a very common mistake for learners. (c) is Present Simple.
16 (b) is preparing
- Why it’s correct: “She” takes “is”. “Prepare” drops the silent “e” (preparing).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error (prepareing). (c) is Present Simple.
17 (c) is answering
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “Nobody” acts as a singular subject, requiring “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) incorrectly uses the plural “are”.
18 (c) are mopping
- Why it’s correct: “They” takes “are”. “Mop” is a short, Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) word, so you must double the final “p” (mopping).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) misses the double “p” (moping – which changes the meaning entirely!). (b) is Present Simple.
19 (b) is getting
- Why it’s correct: “My colleague” is singular, taking “is”. “Get” is a CVC word, requiring a double “t” (getting).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) forgets to double the “t” (geting).
20 (a) are checking
- Why it’s correct: “The manager and his assistant” form a plural compound subject (they), which requires “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses the singular “is”, failing to recognize that there are two people. (c) is Present Simple.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Grammar Function (Explaining Unavailability): When someone asks for a person who is currently busy, do not use the Present Simple. The Present Simple describes permanent routines (e.g., He works here). To explain exactly why they cannot answer the phone right now, you must use the Present Continuous (e.g., He is talking to a client).
- The “Be” Verb is Mandatory: Never just use the “-ing” verb by itself. You must always match the subject with am, is, or are.
- I am…
- He / She / It is…
- We / You / They are…
- Watch Out for “Everyone” and “Nobody”: Even though “everyone” refers to a whole group of people, it is treated as a singular subject in English grammar. Always use “is” (e.g., Everyone is attending the meeting).
- Spelling Refresher:
- Drop the “e” (type → typing).
- Double the consonant for short CVC words (get → getting, mop → mopping).