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Present Participle Grammar Exercises: Level B1-B2 (with Answers)

⏱ Time: 07:30 📝 Questions: 15 📊 Level: B1, B2 📚 Type: Grammar ⭐ XP: up to +16 (on pass)

How well do you really know Present Participle? Find out with 15 exercises designed for B1-B2 learners. Instant scoring shows exactly where you stand, and detailed explanations turn every mistake into a learning moment. Retake any time to measure your improvement.

⏱ You have 07:30 to answer 15 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  15
Q1 15

Question 1: Look at this sentence: 'She is ___ a letter to her friend right now.' Which form correctly completes it?

Question 1 options
'Writing' is correct because the present progressive tense requires the base verb + '-ing' to describe an action happening right now. 'Write' is the base form, 'written' is the past participle, and 'wrote' is the simple past — none of these work with 'is' in this context.
Q2 15

Question 2: The children are ___ in the park after school.

Question 2 options
'Playing' is correct because the present progressive tense uses 'are' + the '-ing' form of the verb. 'Play', 'played', and 'plays' do not combine correctly with 'are' to form this tense.
Q3 15

Question 3: The present participle always ends in '-ing' in English.

Question 3 options
False because, while the '-ing' form is used in progressive tenses, the present participle also refers to verb forms used in the present perfect (e.g., 'have walked'), which ends in '-ed' for regular verbs, not '-ing'.
Q4 15

Question 4: Which situation correctly uses a present participle in the '-ing' form?

Question 4 options
The '-ing' present participle is used to describe an ongoing action happening at the moment of speaking, as in the present progressive. It is not used to describe completed past actions, habits stated as simple facts, or general truths.
Q5 15

Question 5: Arrange the words to make a correct sentence:

Question 5 options
  • for his exam
  • My brother
  • is currently studying

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'My brother is currently studying for his exam' because the present progressive requires subject + 'is' + '-ing' verb, and 'currently' is merged with its position before the verb phrase.
Q6 15

Question 6: Which sentence uses the present participle correctly?

Question 6 options
'She is reading a book about history' is correct because the present progressive correctly uses 'is' + '-ing' form. 'She is read a book' wrongly uses the past participle. 'She reading a book' omits the auxiliary verb 'is'. 'She is reads a book' incorrectly combines 'is' with a conjugated verb form.
Q7 15

Question 7: Customer: 'Can I speak to the manager?' Receptionist: 'I'm afraid she ___ a meeting at the moment. Can you wait?' Which option best completes the receptionist's reply?

Question 7 options
'Is having' is correct because the receptionist is describing an action happening right now, which requires the present progressive form ('is' + '-ing'). 'Has' indicates simple possession or a completed action, 'had' is past tense, and 'have' does not agree with the singular subject 'she'.
Q8 15

Question 8: Which sentence correctly uses the present progressive (not the simple present)?

Question 8 options
'He is cooking dinner for his family tonight' correctly uses the present progressive ('is cooking') to show an ongoing action. The other options use simple present forms, which express habits or general facts rather than actions in progress right now.
Q9 15

Question 9: Put the words in the correct order:

Question 9 options
  • for the bus
  • have been waiting
  • for twenty minutes
  • They

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'They have been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes' because the present perfect progressive requires 'have been' + '-ing' verb, followed by the duration phrase.
Q10 15

Question 10: My colleagues and I ___ on the new project all morning, and we still have more to do.

Question 10 options
'Have been working' is correct because the present perfect progressive ('have been' + '-ing') expresses an action that started in the past and is still continuing, especially with a duration phrase. 'Have worked' shows completion, 'are working' does not show the connection to the past, and 'were working' is simple past progressive with no link to the present.
Q11 15

Question 11: A student says: 'The verb sleep is irregular, so I use slept as its past participle in the present perfect.' Which statement about this is true?

Question 11 options
Irregular verbs like 'sleep' do not follow the regular '-ed' pattern, so their past participle forms (e.g., 'slept') must be memorised individually. The other options incorrectly suggest that irregular verbs follow regular patterns or that memorisation is unnecessary.
Q12 15

Question 12: Rewrite in the present progressive: 'He runs in the park every day.' → He ___ in the park right now.

Question 12 options
'Is running' is correct because the present progressive is formed with 'is' + the '-ing' form of the verb. 'Runs' is simple present, 'ran' is simple past, and 'has run' is present perfect — none of these express an action happening at this exact moment.
Q13 15

Question 13: Match each sentence to the correct grammar label.

Question 13 options
She is talking on the phone at the moment.
He has forgotten his password again.
They have been studying English for three years.
I drink coffee every morning.
Present perfect progressive — continuing action from past to present
Present progressive — ongoing action right now
Present perfect — past action with present relevance
Simple present — regular habit or fact

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Present progressive uses 'is/am/are' + '-ing' for ongoing actions; present perfect uses 'have/has' + past participle for past actions with present relevance; present perfect progressive uses 'have/has been' + '-ing' for actions continuing from past to present; simple present uses the base verb form for habits and facts.
Q14 15

Question 14: The verb 'let' is an irregular verb whose past participle form is 'let', which is the same as its base form.

Question 14 options
True because 'let' is one of the irregular verbs that does not change form — its base form, simple past, and past participle are all 'let'. This is an exception to the regular pattern where the past participle ends in '-ed'.
Q15 15

Question 15: Which sentence best expresses that an action started in the past, is still going on now, and has lasted a specific amount of time?

Question 15 options
'She has been learning Spanish for two years' is the best choice because the present perfect progressive ('has been learning') expresses a continuing action with a clear duration. 'She is learning Spanish' only shows the present moment. 'She learned Spanish for two years' implies the action is finished. 'She has learned Spanish' shows completion without emphasising ongoing duration.