Present Continuous Actions

Respuesta correcta: A) She is studying for the biology test right now.

• A) She is studying for the biology test right now.Correct! The present continuous is the auxiliary 'is' plus the participle 'studying', and 'right now' marks the action as happening at this moment.
• B) She study for the biology test right now.Incorrect! The bare verb 'study' is the simple present, which describes a repeated habit instead of an action in progress.
• C) She is study for the biology test right now.Incorrect! After the auxiliary 'is' the verb must be the participle 'studying', never the base form 'study'.
• D) She studying for the biology test right now.Incorrect! The participle 'studying' can never stand on its own here, because it requires the auxiliary 'is' in front of it.

Respuesta correcta: C) are waiting

• A) is waitingIncorrect! The auxiliary 'is' is singular, and the subject of this sentence is the plural 'they'.
• B) waitsIncorrect! 'Waits' carries the -s of the singular third person, and a simple present cannot describe an action still in progress.
• C) are waitingCorrect! 'They' is plural, so the auxiliary of the present continuous is 'are' in front of the participle 'waiting'.
• D) waitIncorrect! 'Wait' is the bare form, and the progressive would need 'are waiting' with a plural subject.

Respuesta correcta: B) isn't reading

• A) don't readIncorrect! 'Don't' is the auxiliary of I, you, we and they, and it never carries the third person ending.
• B) isn't readingCorrect! The negative present continuous is 'is not' plus the participle, which contracts to 'isn't reading'.
• C) isn't readIncorrect! After 'isn't' the verb must be the participle 'reading', and the base form 'read' is impossible there.
• D) not readsIncorrect! The negative needs the auxiliary 'does not', so the -s in 'not reads' sits in the wrong place.

Respuesta correcta: D) Are you using the library room now?

• A) Do you use the library room now?Incorrect! 'Do you use' is a question in the simple present, while the marker 'now' asks for the present continuous.
• B) Are you use the library room now?Incorrect! After the auxiliary 'Are' the verb must be the participle 'using', and the base form 'use' is impossible.
• C) You are using the library room now?Incorrect! 'You are using ...?' keeps the order of a statement, and a question puts the auxiliary in front of the subject.
• D) Are you using the library room now?Correct! 'Are you using' has the auxiliary before the subject and the participle 'using' after it, which is question form in the continuous.

Respuesta correcta: D) running

• A) runingIncorrect! 'Runing' drops the doubled consonant that the spelling requires when the stem ends in one consonant after a short vowel.
• B) runnningIncorrect! 'Runnning' triples the n, and English never writes three of the same consonant in a stem like this.
• C) runeingIncorrect! 'Runeing' is not a spelling of any English form; the participle keeps the spelling of the base verb.
• D) runningCorrect! 'To run' doubles the n before -ing, so the participle is written 'running'.

Respuesta correcta: B) swimming

• A) swimingIncorrect! 'Swiming' drops the doubled m, and the spelling of the participle never changes the base form.
• B) swimmingCorrect! 'To swim' doubles the final m before -ing, and that is exactly how the participle 'swimming' is written.
• C) swimm ingIncorrect! 'Swimm ing' splits one word in two, and a participle is always written as a single word.
• D) swumingIncorrect! 'Swuming' changes the vowel of the base verb, which no English spelling rule allows.

Respuesta correcta: A) is making

• A) is makingCorrect! 'My sister' is a singular subject, so the auxiliary of the present continuous is 'is' before 'making'.
• B) are makingIncorrect! 'Are' is the plural auxiliary, and it disagrees with the singular subject 'my sister'.
• C) is makeIncorrect! After 'is' the verb must be the participle 'making', and the base form is impossible in that slot.
• D) makesIncorrect! 'Makes' is the simple present of a singular subject, which describes a habit rather than an action in progress.

Respuesta correcta: C) am studying

• A) is studyingIncorrect! The auxiliary 'is' belongs to the second and third persons, and the subject of this sentence is the pronoun 'I'.
• B) am studyIncorrect! After 'am' the verb must be the participle 'studying', so the base form is impossible.
• C) am studyingCorrect! The pronoun 'I' always takes the auxiliary 'am', which is followed by the participle 'studying'.
• D) studyIncorrect! 'Study' is the simple present, and the marker 'at the moment' asks for an action happening now.

Respuesta correcta: C) are playing

• A) is playingIncorrect! 'Is' is the singular auxiliary, and the subject 'the children' is plural.
• B) playsIncorrect! 'Plays' is the simple present of a singular subject, and 'every afternoon' describes a habit rather than an action in progress.
• C) are playingCorrect! 'The children' is plural, so the auxiliary of the present continuous is 'are' in front of 'playing'.
• D) playIncorrect! 'Play' is the bare form, and the progressive with 'the children' would need 'are playing'.

Respuesta correcta: A) aren't they

• A) aren't theyCorrect! A tag built on a positive present continuous clause takes the negative of the same auxiliary, which gives 'aren't they'.
• B) isn't theyIncorrect! 'Isn't' is singular, and the subject of the main clause is the plural 'they'.
• C) don't theyIncorrect! 'Don't' cannot negate the auxiliary 'are', because a tag repeats the auxiliary of the clause it closes.
• D) they are notIncorrect! 'They are not' is a statement of its own, and a question tag must be a short contracted question.

Respuesta correcta: D) are lying

• A) are lieingIncorrect! 'Lieing' adds an extra e before -ing, and the spelling of 'to lie' stays unchanged in the participle.
• B) are lainIncorrect! 'Lain' is the past participle, which needs 'have' and describes a finished action rather than one in progress.
• C) is lyingIncorrect! 'Is lying' uses the singular auxiliary, and the subject of this sentence is the plural 'they'.
• D) are lyingCorrect! 'They' takes the plural auxiliary 'are', and 'lie' keeps its spelling in front of the participle -ing.

Respuesta correcta: B) He is never late for class.

• A) He never is late for class.Incorrect! English never splits the present continuous around the adverb, so 'never is late' is not a natural order.
• B) He is never late for class.Correct! The adverb 'never' sits between the auxiliary 'is' and the adjective, which is the natural order in English.
• C) He is late never for class.Incorrect! 'Late never' pushes the adverb to the end of the clause, and no English clause allows that position here.
• D) He never late for class.Incorrect! 'Never' without any auxiliary leaves the verb with no tense at all, and English always needs one.

Respuesta correcta: B) is teaching

• A) is teach ingIncorrect! 'Teach ing' splits one word into two, and a participle is always written as a single word.
• B) is teachingCorrect! 'Is teaching' is the auxiliary 'is' plus the participle 'teaching', which is exactly the present continuous.
• C) teachesIncorrect! 'Teaches' is the simple present, and the question asks for the progressive form.
• D) is teatchingIncorrect! 'Teatching' mis-spells the base verb, and a participle can never change the spelling of the stem.

Respuesta correcta: D) is writing

• A) is writeingIncorrect! 'Writeing' keeps the silent e before -ing, and a verb ending in -e simply drops it.
• B) is writtingIncorrect! 'Writting' doubles a consonant that this verb never doubles, so the participle keeps a single t.
• C) writesIncorrect! 'Writes' is the simple present of a singular subject, while the marker 'right now' asks for the progressive.
• D) is writingCorrect! 'Is writing' is the auxiliary 'is' followed by the participle 'writing', with no extra letter anywhere.

Respuesta correcta: C) Are

• A) DoIncorrect! 'Do' builds questions with action verbs in the simple present, but 'waiting' is a participle.
• B) IsIncorrect! 'Is' is the singular auxiliary, and the subject 'you' always takes the plural one.
• C) AreCorrect! 'You' takes the plural auxiliary 'Are', which is followed by the participle 'waiting' in this question.
• D) AmIncorrect! 'Am' belongs to the pronoun 'I', and the subject of this question is 'you'.

Respuesta correcta: A) An arrangement for a future time.

• A) An arrangement for a future time.Correct! An arrangement such as 'We are meeting the teacher tomorrow at ten' uses 'be' plus the participle, which signals a fixed plan rather than a guess.
• B) An action that is happening right now.Incorrect! 'An action that is happening right now' would need 'tomorrow at ten' to point at this moment, and it does not.
• C) A habit from the past.Incorrect! 'A habit from the past' describes a repeated action that stopped, which the present continuous can never express.
• D) A prediction about the future.Incorrect! 'A prediction about the future' is made with 'will' plus a base verb, and this sentence contains no modal.

Respuesta correcta: A) Yes, I am.

• A) Yes, I am.Correct! 'Yes, I am' repeats the auxiliary of the question and adds nothing else, which is the standard short answer.
• B) Yes, I eat.Incorrect! 'Yes, I eat' repeats the simple present instead of the auxiliary, so it does not answer a continuous question.
• C) Yes, I am eating.Incorrect! 'Yes, I am eating' adds a new piece of information, and a short answer only agrees with the question.
• D) Yes, I do.Incorrect! 'Yes, I do' uses the auxiliary of an action verb, but the question was built with 'are'.

Respuesta correcta: D) An arrangement for a future time.

• A) An action that is happening right now.Incorrect! 'An action that is happening right now' is a perfectly natural use of the present continuous, so this reading does not make the sentence unnatural.
• B) A habit from the past.Incorrect! 'A habit from the past' could never be what this sentence means, so this reading is not the reason to reject it.
• C) A prediction about the future.Incorrect! 'A prediction about the future' is not what this sentence says either, because it contains no modal at all.
• D) An arrangement for a future time.Correct! 'An arrangement for a future time' is the odd reading here, because the present continuous marks actions in progress or habits rather than a fixed future plan.

Respuesta correcta: B) is coming

• A) comesIncorrect! 'Comes' is the simple present, and the marker 'Look!' signals an action in progress at this moment.
• B) is comingCorrect! The marker 'Look!' always introduces the present continuous, which here is 'is' plus 'coming'.
• C) is comeIncorrect! After 'is' the verb must be the participle 'coming', and the base form is impossible there.
• D) is commingIncorrect! 'Comming' doubles the m, and English never writes two of the same consonant in a stem like this.

Respuesta correcta: C) am I not

• A) aren't IIncorrect! 'Aren't I' is not a possible contraction, because 'am' never shortens to 'aren't' anywhere in English.
• B) do I notIncorrect! 'Do I not' negates an action verb, and the verb of this clause is the one of 'to be'.
• C) am I notCorrect! A tag on a negative clause keeps the same auxiliary in its full form, which gives 'am I not'.
• D) isn't IIncorrect! 'Isn't I' mixes two different auxiliaries, and 'am' is the only one that agrees with the pronoun 'I'.