Present Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are sitting on your sofa watching a live football match, a reality TV show, or a movie. You are texting your friends in a group chat to report exactly what is happening on the screen right at this very second!
Choose the best option to complete each text message.
1 The match is starting! The players ______ onto the pitch.
(a) are running
(b) run
(c) is running
2 Look at the striker! He ______ the ball right now.
(a) kicks
(b) is kicking
(c) kicking
3 Turn on the TV! The lead singer ______ my favorite song!
(a) am singing
(b) sings
(c) is singing
4 This is terrible! Our team ______ the game.
(a) is loseing
(b) is losing
(c) lose
5 I ______ the season finale of our favorite show right now!
(a) watch
(b) watching
(c) am watching
6 What ______ in this scene? I don’t understand the plot.
(a) is happening
(b) happens
(c) are happening
7 The fans ______ down. They are all standing and cheering!
(a) don’t sit
(b) aren’t siting
(c) aren’t sitting
8 The main actor ______ his usual costume in this episode.
(a) isn’t wearing
(b) doesn’t wear
(c) aren’t wearing
9 This race is crazy! Who ______ right now?
(a) wins
(b) are winning
(c) is winning
10 The dancers ______ so fast on the stage!
(a) are moveing
(b) move
(c) are moving
11 The score is 1-1 Both teams ______ very hard to score a goal.
(a) are trying
(b) are trieing
(c) try
12 Oh wow, the referee and the manager ______ on the side of the pitch.
(a) is arguing
(b) argue
(c) are arguing
13 Why ______ in this movie scene? It’s so sad.
(a) is the girl crying
(b) the girl is crying
(c) does the girl cry
14 Everyone in the stadium ______ for the home team!
(a) cheers
(b) is cheering
(c) are cheering
15 I usually hate sports, but I ______ this football match so much!
(a) am enjoying
(b) enjoy
(c) am enjoing
16 Look! The weather is getting worse. It ______ to rain on the players.
(a) begins
(b) is begining
(c) is beginning
17 Nobody ______ attention to the coach right now. The players are too tired.
(a) are paying
(b) is paying
(c) pays
18 “Are they showing the replay of the goal?” “Yes, ______.”
(a) they showing
(b) they do
(c) they are
19 Shh! The talent show judges ______ their final decision right now.
(a) are making
(b) makes
(c) are makeing
20 The red car is in first place, but the blue car ______ closer!
(a) is getting
(b) gets
(c) is geting
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a) are running
- Why it’s correct: “The players” is a plural subject (they), so it requires “are” + V-ing. The exclamation mark indicates the action is happening live.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple, which describes general facts, not live actions. (c) uses the singular “is”.
2 (b) is kicking
- Why it’s correct: “He” takes “is” + V-ing. You are describing exactly what he is doing at this very moment on screen.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the auxiliary “be” verb (is).
3 (c) is singing
- Why it’s correct: “The lead singer” is singular, taking “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses “am”, which is only for the subject “I”. (b) is Present Simple.
4 (b) is losing
- Why it’s correct: “Our team” takes “is”. The verb “lose” ends in a silent ‘e’, so you must drop the ‘e’ before adding “-ing” (losing).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error because it keeps the silent ‘e’ (loseing). (c) is Present Simple.
5 (c) am watching
- Why it’s correct: “I” takes “am” + V-ing to describe the live event you are currently viewing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is missing the “be” verb “am”.
6 (a) is happening
- Why it’s correct: The question word “What” acts as a singular subject here, asking about the current event, so it takes “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) incorrectly uses the plural “are”.
7 (c) aren’t sitting
- Why it’s correct: “The fans” is plural, taking “are not” (aren’t). “Sit” is a short CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) word, so you must double the “t” (sitting).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is a spelling error because it forgets to double the “t”.
8 (a) isn’t wearing
- Why it’s correct: “The main actor” is singular, so the negative is “is not” (isn’t) + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is the Present Simple negative (doesn’t wear). (c) uses the plural “aren’t”.
9 (c) is winning
- Why it’s correct: The question word “Who” acts as a singular subject, taking “is”. “Win” doubles the “n” to become “winning”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) incorrectly uses the plural “are”.
10 (c) are moving
- Why it’s correct: “The dancers” is plural, taking “are”. “Move” drops the silent ‘e’ (moving).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error (moveing). (b) is Present Simple.
11 (a) are trying
- Why it’s correct: “Both teams” is plural (they), taking “are”. For verbs ending in ‘y’, you simply add “-ing” directly.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is a spelling error; you do not change ‘y’ to ‘ie’ in Present Continuous. (c) is Present Simple.
12 (c) are arguing
- Why it’s correct: “The referee and the manager” form a compound plural subject (they), which requires “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses the singular “is”, failing to recognize the two people. (b) is Present Simple.
13 (a) is the girl crying
- Why it’s correct: For WH-questions, the word order is WH-word + be + subject + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses statement word order, not question format. (c) is a Present Simple question.
14 (b) is cheering
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “Everyone” is grammatically singular in English and always takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) uses “are”, which is a very common mistake for learners who think of “everyone” as a plural group.
15 (a) am enjoying
- Why it’s correct: “I” takes “am”. This sentence contrasts a permanent fact (I hate sports) with a live, ongoing experience (I am enjoying this match).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is a spelling error because it drops the ‘y’ (enjoing).
16 (c) is beginning
- Why it’s correct: “It” takes “is”. “Begin” ends in a CVC pattern with the stress on the final syllable, so you must double the “n” (beginning).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is a spelling error because it fails to double the “n”.
17 (b) is paying
- Why it’s correct: Just like “everyone”, the pronoun “Nobody” acts as a singular subject and takes “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses the plural “are”. (c) is Present Simple.
18 (c) they are
- Why it’s correct: In short answers to Present Continuous questions (“Are they…?”), we simply reply with the subject and the “be” verb (“Yes, they are”).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) incorrectly includes the V-ing verb in a short answer. (b) uses “do”, which is the short answer for Present Simple.
19 (a) are making
- Why it’s correct: “The judges” is plural, taking “are”. “Make” drops the silent ‘e’ (making).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is a spelling error (makeing).
20 (a) is getting
- Why it’s correct: “The blue car” takes “is”. “Get” is a short CVC word, so you double the “t” (getting).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is a spelling error (geting).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Grammar Function (Live Reporting): When you are watching a movie, a sports match, or a live stream and want to describe the action as it unfolds, you must use the Present Continuous. This creates a sense of immediate action and continuous movement (e.g., Messi is running, the singer is singing).
- Forming Questions & Short Answers: * Q: Are they showing the replay? * A: Yes, they are. (Do not say: Yes, they do ❌ or Yes, they are showing ❌).
- Compound Subjects: Watch out for “and”. The referee AND the manager = They. Always use “are“.
- Spelling Rules Refresher:
- Double the letter: win → winning, sit → sitting, get → getting, begin → beginning.
- Drop the ‘e’: lose → losing, move → moving, make → making.
- Keep the ‘y’: try → trying, enjoy → enjoying.