Present Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are sitting in a beautiful restaurant, a cozy cafe, or a nice hotel. You are having such a great time that you decide to write a live post on social media or a review app right now. You want to tell your friends exactly what you are experiencing at this very moment!
Choose the best option to complete each sentence in your live review.
1 I am at the new Italian restaurant, and I ______ the best pizza ever!
(a) eat
(b) am eating
(c) is eating
2 We have a great table. We ______ by the big window with a view of the street.
(a) are sitting
(b) sit
(c) are siting
3 The service is very fast. The waiter ______ our drinks right now.
(a) brings
(b) bringing
(c) is bringing
4 I ______ a delicious cup of hot chocolate. It is so good!
(a) am drinking
(b) drink
(c) is drinking
5 The atmosphere is amazing. The musicians ______ live jazz music in the corner.
(a) play
(b) are playing
(c) is playing
6 We ______ long for our food. The kitchen is very fast today!
(a) aren’t waiting
(b) don’t wait
(c) isn’t waiting
7 Look at my video! The chef ______ the sushi right in front of us.
(a) is makeing
(b) makes
(c) is making
8 This dessert is too good. I ______ this chocolate cake with anyone!
(a) don’t share
(b) am not sharing
(c) not sharing
9 ______ for a great place for dinner tonight? Come to this restaurant!
(a) Are you looking
(b) Do you look
(c) You are looking
10 The food looks like art. My friend ______ photos of every single dish.
(a) takes
(b) is taking
(c) are taking
11 This cafe is very family-friendly. The kids ______ a great time in the play area.
(a) are haveing
(b) have
(c) are having
12 I ______ the romantic atmosphere here tonight. Highly recommended!
(a) am enjoying
(b) enjoy
(c) am enjoing
13 We ______ outside on the terrace because the weather is lovely today.
(a) eat
(b) are eat
(c) are eating
14 The waiters ______ very hard today to serve everyone quickly.
(a) are working
(b) works
(c) is working
15 The energy here is wonderful. Everyone in the restaurant ______.
(a) are smiling
(b) is smiling
(c) smiles
16 My husband and I ______ our 10th anniversary here tonight. We love it!
(a) are celebrating
(b) is celebrating
(c) celebrate
17 The staff is so polite, and nobody ______ us to leave our table.
(a) are rushing
(b) rushes
(c) is rushing
18 The food is fresh and tasty. I ______ this cafe 5 stars!
(a) am giving
(b) am giveing
(c) give
19 Wow, who ______ the steak tonight? It is absolutely perfect!
(a) are cooking
(b) is cooking
(c) cooks
20 Look at this picture! The hot cheese ______ all over the burger.
(a) melts
(b) are melting
(c) is melting
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) am eating
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” takes “am” + V-ing. You are writing the review while eating, so it is happening right now.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple (a general habit), not a live action. (c) uses “is”, which is incorrect for “I”.
2 (a) are sitting
- Why it’s correct: “We” takes “are”. “Sit” is a short CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) word, so we double the “t” (sitting).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is a spelling error because it forgets to double the “t”.
3 (c) is bringing
- Why it’s correct: “The waiter” is singular, taking “is” + V-ing to describe the live action.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is missing the auxiliary verb “is”.
4 (a) am drinking
- Why it’s correct: “I” takes “am” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) uses “is” instead of “am”.
5 (b) are playing
- Why it’s correct: “The musicians” is plural (they), taking “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) uses the singular “is”.
6 (a) aren’t waiting
- Why it’s correct: The negative form for “We” is “are not” (aren’t) + V-ing. It describes the current status of your table.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is the Present Simple negative. (c) uses the singular “isn’t”.
7 (c) is making
- Why it’s correct: “The chef” takes “is”. “Make” ends in a silent ‘e’, so you drop the ‘e’ before adding “-ing” (making).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error because it keeps the silent ‘e’. (b) is Present Simple.
8 (b) am not sharing
- Why it’s correct: The negative for “I” is “am not” + V-ing. You are refusing to share your food right now!
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the “be” verb “am”.
9 (a) Are you looking
- Why it’s correct: This is a Yes/No question directed at the reader of your review. The structure is Be + Subject + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is a Present Simple question. (c) uses statement word order instead of question word order.
10 (b) is taking
- Why it’s correct: “My friend” is singular, taking “is”. “Take” drops the silent ‘e’ (taking).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (c) incorrectly uses the plural “are”.
11 (c) are having
- Why it’s correct: “The kids” is plural, taking “are”. “Have” drops the silent ‘e’ (having).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error (haveing). (b) is Present Simple.
12 (a) am enjoying
- Why it’s correct: “I” takes “am”. Verbs ending in ‘y’ just take “-ing” directly (enjoying).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is a spelling error because it drops the ‘y’.
13 (c) are eating
- Why it’s correct: “We” takes “are” + V-ing to describe where you are sitting at this moment.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is missing the “-ing” suffix on the verb.
14 (a) are working
- Why it’s correct: “The waiters” is plural, requiring “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) uses the singular “is”.
15 (b) is smiling
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “Everyone” is grammatically singular in English. It takes “is”. “Smile” drops the silent ‘e’ (smiling).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses “are”, which is a common mistake for learners treating “everyone” as a plural noun. (c) is Present Simple.
16 (a) are celebrating
- Why it’s correct: “My husband and I” form a plural subject (we). Therefore, you must use “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses “is”, failing to recognize that there are two people. (c) is Present Simple.
17 (c) is rushing
- Why it’s correct: Just like “everyone”, the pronoun “Nobody” acts as a singular subject and takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses the plural “are”. (b) is Present Simple.
18 (a) am giving
- Why it’s correct: You are taking the action of rating the restaurant right now in your post. “I” takes “am”, and “give” drops the silent ‘e’ (giving).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is a spelling error (giveing). (c) is Present Simple.
19 (b) is cooking
- Why it’s correct: The question word “Who” usually acts as a singular subject, so it takes “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses the plural “are”. (c) is Present Simple.
20 (c) is melting
- Why it’s correct: “The cheese” is an uncountable noun (singular), so it takes “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) uses the plural “are”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Grammar Function (Live Reviews & Statuses): When you write a review while you are still at the restaurant or hotel, using the Present Continuous makes your writing feel alive and authentic. It tells the reader, “I am experiencing this right now, and it’s real!” (e.g., I am eating the best pizza! instead of I eat the best pizza).
- Uncountable Nouns: Remember that food items that are mass/liquid (like cheese, water, soup, chocolate) are uncountable. Treat them as singular subjects and use “is” (e.g., The cheese is melting).
- Compound Subjects: When you see “[Person] and I”, remember that it means “We”. You must use “are” (e.g., My husband and I are celebrating).
- Spelling Rules Check:
- Drop the ‘e’: make → making, have → having, give → giving, smile → smiling.
- Keep the ‘y’: enjoy → enjoying.
- Double the CVC: sit → sitting.