Present Continuous Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are at home, in the office, or at school. You need to remind someone to be quiet, stop what they are doing, or pay attention because an important activity is taking place right at this moment.
Choose the best option to complete each sentence.
1 Shh! Please speak softly. The baby ______.
(a) sleeps
(b) is sleeping
(c) are sleeping
2 Please be quiet. I ______ for my math test.
(a) am studying
(b) study
(c) am study
3 Don’t make noise. The students ______ an exam in the next room.
(a) take
(b) are takeing
(c) are taking
4 Listen! The teacher ______ to us.
(a) speaking
(b) speaks
(c) is speaking
5 Turn down the TV, please. We ______ to read our books.
(a) are trying
(b) try
(c) are trieing
6 Shh! Why ______ so loudly? The movie is starting.
(a) do you talk
(b) are you talking
(c) you are talking
7 Please don’t interrupt. The manager ______ the new rules right now.
(a) is explaining
(b) explaining
(c) explains
8 Keep your voices down. My brother and I ______ from home today.
(a) is working
(b) are working
(c) work
9 Can you turn off that loud music? I ______ to it, and I need to focus.
(a) don’t listen
(b) not listening
(c) am not listening
10 Please stop playing the drums! My grandfather ______ in his bedroom.
(a) is resting
(b) rests
(c) is rest
11 Be careful! You ______ on my foot!
(a) stand
(b) is standing
(c) are standing
12 Look! The boss ______. Please stop chatting and open your laptops.
(a) is comeing
(b) is coming
(c) comes
13 Please be quiet. We ______ the news on television.
(a) are watching
(b) watch
(c) watching
14 Stop running around the house! The baby ______ up.
(a) is wakeing
(b) wakes
(c) is waking
15 Shh! Don’t ring the doorbell. Everyone in the house ______.
(a) are sleeping
(b) is sleeping
(c) sleeps
16 Please don’t shout. Nobody ______ to you anyway.
(a) is listening
(b) are listening
(c) listens
17 Quiet please! The scientists ______ the chemicals together right now.
(a) put
(b) are puting
(c) are putting
18 Stop making that noise! Who ______ the table?
(a) is hitting
(b) are hitting
(c) hits
19 Please wait outside. The doctor ______ a patient at the moment.
(a) checks
(b) is check
(c) is checking
20 Shh! I ______ a very important email, and you ______ too much noise!
(a) write / make
(b) am writing / are making
(c) am writeing / are makeing
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) is sleeping
- Why it’s correct: “The baby” is singular (he/she), so it takes “is” + V-ing. The word “Shh!” shows the action is happening right now.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is the Present Simple (routine), which is a common mistake. (c) uses the plural “are”, which is a basic grammar error for a singular subject.
2 (a) am studying
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” takes “am” + V-ing. You need quiet because the studying is happening exactly at this moment.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the “-ing” suffix on the main verb.
3 (c) are taking
- Why it’s correct: “The students” is plural (they), taking “are”. The verb “take” drops the silent “e” to become “taking”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is a spelling error because it keeps the silent “e” (takeing).
4 (c) is speaking
- Why it’s correct: “The teacher” is singular, so it takes “is” + V-ing. The command “Listen!” draws attention to a current action.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is missing the “be” verb (is). (b) is Present Simple.
5 (a) are trying
- Why it’s correct: “We” takes “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is a spelling mistake; you do not change the “y” to “ie” in the Present Continuous.
6 (b) are you talking
- Why it’s correct: For a WH-question in the Present Continuous, the order is WH-word + be + subject + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a Present Simple question. (c) uses statement word order instead of question word order.
7 (a) is explaining
- Why it’s correct: “The manager” is singular, taking “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is missing the auxiliary verb “is”. (c) is Present Simple.
8 (b) are working
- Why it’s correct: “My brother and I” means “we” (plural), so it requires “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses the singular “is”, failing to recognize the compound subject. (c) is Present Simple.
9 (c) am not listening
- Why it’s correct: The negative form for “I” is “am not” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is missing the “be” verb “am”.
10 (a) is resting
- Why it’s correct: “My grandfather” takes “is” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the “-ing” suffix.
11 (c) are standing
- Why it’s correct: The subject “You” always takes “are” + V-ing. “Be careful!” shows the action is currently happening.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) uses “is”, which cannot be used with “You”.
12 (b) is coming
- Why it’s correct: “The boss” takes “is”. The verb “come” drops the silent “e” to become “coming”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error (comeing). (c) is Present Simple.
13 (a) are watching
- Why it’s correct: “We” takes “are” + V-ing.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is Present Simple. (c) is missing the “be” verb.
14 (c) is waking
- Why it’s correct: “The baby” takes “is”. The verb “wake” drops the silent “e” (waking).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a spelling error (wakeing). (b) is Present Simple.
15 (b) is sleeping
- Why it’s correct: Pronouns like “Everyone” or “Everybody” are grammatically singular in English, so they take “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses “are”, which is a common trap for learners who think of “everyone” as a plural group. (c) is Present Simple.
16 (a) is listening
- Why it’s correct: Just like “everyone”, the pronoun “Nobody” acts as a singular subject and takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses the plural “are”. (c) is Present Simple.
17 (c) are putting
- Why it’s correct: “The scientists” is plural (they), taking “are”. “Put” is a short, Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) word, so you must double the final “t” (putting).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is a spelling error (puting) because it fails to double the consonant.
18 (a) is hitting
- Why it’s correct: The question word “Who” acts as a singular subject, taking “is”. “Hit” is a CVC word, requiring a double “t” (hitting).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses the plural “are”. (c) is Present Simple.
19 (c) is checking
- Why it’s correct: “The doctor” takes “is” + V-ing to describe the ongoing action.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is Present Simple. (b) is missing the “-ing” suffix.
20 (b) am writing / are making
- Why it’s correct: “I” takes “am writing” (drop the “e” in write). “You” takes “are making” (drop the “e” in make).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses Present Simple for both, which ignores the context of a current disruption. (c) has spelling errors for both words (writeing / makeing).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Grammar Function (Action as a Reason): In English, we frequently use “Signal Words” like Look!, Listen!, Shh!, Be careful!, or Please be quiet. These words are giant clues! They tell you an action is happening right now. Because the action is happening right now, it becomes the reason you are asking someone to change their behavior. Always use the Present Continuous after these signal words, never the Present Simple.
- The “Be” Verb is the Boss: You cannot build the Present Continuous without the “Be” verb. A major A1 mistake is saying She sleeping instead of She is sleeping.
- Tricky Grammar Rules:
- Everyone & Nobody: Even though “everyone” means many people, treat it as one unit (singular). Always use “is” (e.g., Everyone is sleeping).
- Dropping the “e”: If a verb ends in a silent “e”, drop it before adding “-ing” (come → coming, wake → waking).
- Doubling the Consonant: If a short verb ends in Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC), double the last letter (put → putting, hit → hitting).