Present Continuous Exercises

Basic Form (Am/Is/Are + -ing)

easy

Master the basic structure with am/is/are + verb-ing

20 questions • 10 min

Spelling Rules

easy

Learn doubling, drop -e, and -ie→y spelling rules

20 questions • 12 min

Positive Sentences

easy

Practise forming complete affirmative sentences

20 questions • 10 min

Negative Sentences

easy

Master negatives with isn't, aren't, and am not

20 questions • 12 min

Questions

medium

Form Yes/No and Wh- questions correctly

20 questions • 12 min

Short Answers

medium

Give proper short answers (Yes, I am / No, she isn't)

20 questions • 10 min

Actions Happening Now

medium

Use with now, at the moment, Look!, Listen!

20 questions • 12 min

Actions Now and Temporary Situations

Dictationeasy

Listen and type short A2 actions happening now and temporary situations

10 sentences • 7 min

Temporary Situations

medium

Express temporary actions (this week, currently, these days)

20 questions • 15 min

Future Arrangements

medium

Use continuous for definite future plans

20 questions • 15 min

Always + Continuous (Annoying Habits)

hard

Express annoyance about repeated actions

20 questions • 15 min

Simple vs Continuous: Basics

hard

Learn when to use simple (habits) vs continuous (now)

20 questions • 18 min

Simple vs Continuous: State Verbs

hard

Master verbs that don't take continuous (know, want, need)

20 questions • 18 min

Simple vs Continuous: Dual-Meaning Verbs

hard

Verbs that change meaning (think, have, see, taste, smell)

20 questions • 20 min

Final Test

hard

Comprehensive test with progressive difficulty (A1-B2)

25 questions • 25 min

Negative Current Actions

Dictationeasy

Practise hearing and writing negative current actions in complete sentences.

10 sentences • 7 min

Current Action Questions

Dictationeasy

Practise hearing and writing current action questions in complete sentences.

10 sentences • 7 min

Changing Situations

Dictationmedium

Practise hearing and writing changing situations in complete sentences.

10 sentences • 7 min

Fixed Future Arrangements

Dictationmedium

Practise hearing and writing fixed future arrangements in complete sentences.

10 sentences • 7 min

What is the present continuous tense?

The present continuous (also called present progressive) is formed with am/is/are + verb-ing. It describes actions happening right now, temporary situations, future arrangements, and annoying habits. Corpus research shows it accounts for about 15% of all verb forms in spoken English, making it one of the three most frequently used tenses.

With "I"

"I am working"

With he/she/it

"She is studying"

With you/we/they

"They are playing"

Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing

Present Continuous Quick Reference - Formation and Uses

What are the spelling rules for -ing verbs?

Most verbs simply add -ing (work→working, play→playing). However, three important spelling rules apply to specific verb patterns. These rules are consistent across British and American English.

Double the final consonant (CVC pattern)

run → running, sit → sitting, swim → swimming, stop → stopping

Applies when: short vowel + single consonant at the end

Drop the silent -e

make → making, write → writing, come → coming, dance → dancing

Exception: verbs ending in -ee keep both e's (see → seeing)

Change -ie to -y

lie → lying, die → dying, tie → tying

This prevents awkward spellings like "lieing"

Present Continuous Spelling Rules - Adding -ING

When do you use the present continuous?

Present continuous has four main uses: actions happening now, temporary situations, fixed future arrangements, and expressing annoyance about habits. Research from the Cambridge English Corpus shows that "actions now" and "temporary situations" account for about 70% of present continuous usage.

1. Actions Happening Now

With: now, right now, at the moment, Look!, Listen!

"Look! It's snowing!"

2. Temporary Situations

With: this week, currently, these days, at present

"I'm staying with friends this week."

3. Future Arrangements

With: tomorrow, next week, tonight, on Saturday

"I'm meeting my friends tomorrow."

4. Annoying Habits

With: always, constantly, forever (expresses annoyance)

"He's always forgetting his keys!"

When to Use Present Continuous - The 4 Main Uses

What is the difference between present simple and present continuous?

Present simple describes permanent situations, habits, and facts. Present continuous describes temporary situations and actions in progress. The key question: Is this permanent/habitual (use simple) or temporary/happening now (use continuous)?

Present Simple	Present Continuous
"I work in London." (permanent job)	"I'm working from home today." (temporary)
"She drinks coffee." (habit)	"She's drinking tea today." (unusual/now)
"Water boils at 100°C." (fact)	"The water's boiling!" (happening now)

Study tip: Time expressions often indicate which tense to use. "Usually, always, every day" → simple. "Now, at the moment, currently" → continuous.

How to Form Present Continuous Sentences

Which verbs cannot be used in the continuous form?

State verbs (also called stative verbs) describe states rather than actions. They don't normally take continuous form because you can't see someone "doing" them—they describe conditions that exist. Corpus analysis shows native speakers almost never use these in continuous, even in informal speech.

Mental States

know, understand, believe, remember, forget, think (opinion)

Emotions

like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, wish

Possession

have, own, belong, possess, contain

Senses/Perception

see, hear, smell, taste, feel (involuntary)

✗"I am knowing the answer."→"I know the answer."

✗"She is wanting a coffee."→"She wants a coffee."

Why do some verbs change meaning in continuous form?

Some verbs have both a "state" meaning (no continuous) and an "action" meaning (continuous OK). The meaning changes depending on the tense. This is one of the trickiest aspects of English tenses for learners.

THINK

Opinion (state) →

"I think you're right."

Mental activity (action) →

"I'm thinking about it."

HAVE

Possession (state) →

"I have two cars."

Experience/eat (action) →

"I'm having dinner."

SEE

Understand/perceive (state) →

"I see what you mean."

Meet (action) →

"I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow."

TASTE / SMELL

Quality (state) →

"This soup tastes delicious."

Deliberate action →

"She's tasting the soup."

What are the most common present continuous mistakes?

Based on learner corpus analysis, the most frequent errors involve using continuous with state verbs, confusing simple and continuous uses, and spelling mistakes with -ing forms. Here are the top mistakes to avoid:

Using continuous with state verbs

✗ "I am understanding now."→✓ "I understand now."

Using simple for actions happening now

✗ "Look! It snows!"→✓ "Look! It's snowing!"

Forgetting to double consonants

✗ "She is runing."→✓ "She is running."

Using continuous for habits

✗ "I am going to work by bus every day."→✓ "I go to work by bus every day."

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Statistics and research cited on this page:

•
Cambridge English Corpus - Analysis showing present continuous accounts for approximately 15% of verb forms in spoken English, with "actions now" and "temporary situations" being the most common uses.
•
Biber et al. (1999) - Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, comprehensive corpus analysis of tense usage patterns across registers.
•
Cambridge Learner Corpus - Error analysis showing state verb misuse and simple/continuous confusion as the most common learner mistakes.Cambridge Research

Explore Other Grammar Topics

Continue practising with these related exercises

Present Continuous Dictation: Actions Now and Temporary Situations

Listen for auxiliaries and ing forms in short A2 sentences

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Basic Form

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Present Continuous: Multiple Choice

Choose am, is or are and the -ing form for actions now

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-ed vs -ing Adjectives

Practise bored/boring, interested/interesting, and other feeling adjective pairs

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Conditionals

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Master all types of conditional sentences (zero to third)

330 questions

Present Perfect

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Learn to talk about experiences and unfinished time

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