Present Continuous — Questions
100% Original Practice Test
Find out what is happening at a community garden open day. Study the guide, practise 44 questions, then use what you know in four short speaking tasks.
Your Quick Grammar Guide
At a community garden open day, people are busy with different jobs. Use a question to check an action or find out a detail about what is happening now.
1. How to Form It
Check an action: yes or no?
Positive: subject + am / is / are + verb-ing.
The guide is opening the gate.
Negative: subject + am / is / are + not + verb-ing.
The guide is not opening the side gate.
Question: Am / Is / Are + subject + verb-ing?
Is the guide opening the gate?
Short answer: Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.
Find out a detail
Question word + am / is / are + subject + verb-ing?
What is the guide opening?
She is opening the gate.
Where are the visitors sitting?
They are sitting under the apple tree.
Start with the question word. Put is or are before the subject, then keep the action in its -ing form.
Choose the subject’s partner
I → am: Am I cutting this string correctly?
He / she / it / one person or thing → is: Is the little dog digging?
You / we / they / plural nouns → are: Are the visitors taking photos?
Use are with you for one person or several people. Keep both parts of the tense: are + taking.
Keep the -ing spelling
make → making: drop the final e.
tie → tying: change ie to y.
dry → drying / carry → carrying: keep the y.
sit → sitting: double the final t in this short verb.
The spelling stays the same in a statement and a question: The visitor is sitting. → Is the visitor sitting?
2. Clue Words & Patterns
Choose the information you need
What → action or thing: What are you drawing? — A map of the garden.
Where → place: Where is the dog digging? — Beside the fence.
Why → reason: Why are you closing the gate? — To keep the dog inside.
Which + noun → one from a group: Which tree are they planting? — The small apple tree.
The detail you need decides the question word or phrase.
Look for an action in progress
now · right now · at the moment · Look! · Listen!
Listen! The visitors are singing near the gate.
Are they singing the garden song?
These clues help you understand the situation. Check the meaning too: Is the gate open now? describes a state, so it does not need an -ing verb.
Change perspective in short answers
A helper asks you: “Are you cutting the string?”
You answer: “Yes, I am.” / “No, I’m not.”
You ask two visitors: “Are you taking photos?”
They answer together: “Yes, we are.”
“Is the dog digging?”
“Yes, it is.” / “No, it isn’t.”
The pronoun depends on who answers and who or what the answer describes.
Short and full answers both work
“Is the guide opening the gate?”
Short: “Yes, she is.”
Full: “Yes, she is opening the gate.”
A short answer leaves out the action phrase because the listener already knows it. A full answer can repeat it. Use the requested form in each exercise.
At the end of a positive short answer, keep the full verb: Yes, she is.
3. Watch Out & Common Mistakes
Keep the helping verb
Wrong: The dog digging by the fence?
Better: Is the dog digging by the fence?
A present continuous question needs am, is or are before the subject.
Move be before the subject
Wrong: Why the helper is closing the gate?
Better: Why is the helper closing the gate?
After Why, put is before the helper.
Keep the action in its -ing form
Wrong: Are the visitors take photos?
Better: Are the visitors taking photos?
Use Are + subject + taking for this action happening now.
Use be, without do or does
Wrong: Does the little dog digging?
Better: Is the little dog digging?
The subject the little dog takes is. This question uses is + subject + digging.
Keep positive short answers full
Wrong: Are you cutting the string? Yes, I’m.
Better: Yes, I am.
Do not contract the final verb in a positive short answer. A negative short form is fine: No, I’m not.
Match the subject
Wrong: Is the visitors singing?
Better: Are the visitors singing?
Visitors means more than one person, so choose are.
Try three quick self-checks — no points
Choose: ___ the little dog digging? (Is / Are)
Is. The little dog is one animal, so put Is before the subject and keep digging after it.
A helper asks you: “Are you cutting the string?” You are. Give a short and a full answer.
Yes, I am. / Yes, I am cutting the string. Both are correct. The short answer ends with the full form am.
Put the words in order: the visitors / where / sitting / are
Where are the visitors sitting? Put Where first, then are, then the subject and the -ing verb.
Before you begin: find the subject; choose am, is or are; put it before the subject; check the -ing action. In an information question, put the question word first.
Speaking: make it personal
Listen to each model, repeat it, then change the details to tell your own story. Speaking practice is for self-assessment and adds no points to the 44-question test.
Practice 1
At the community garden open day, ask about the woman near the welcome table. She is carrying a tray of young plants. Give a short answer and a full answer.
Read the model
Is that woman carrying a tray? Yes, she is. She is carrying a tray of young plants.
Practice 2
Your friend is beside the water tank. Ask what your friend is doing. Answer as your friend: you are turning off the tap.
Read the model
What are you doing? I'm turning off the tap.
Practice 3
Ask two children if they are painting the plant pots. They are not painting them; they are washing them. Give their short answer and a full answer.
Read the model
Are you painting the plant pots? No, we aren't. We are washing them.
Practice 4
Ask where your cousin is working. He is beside the tool shed, sorting seed packets. Answer with the place and the action.
Read the model
Where is my cousin working? He is working beside the tool shed. He is sorting the seed packets.
Ready to check your work?
Submit to grade your whole test, OR use 👁 Show Answer per part / per question.
Learning review: what can you do now?
Can you put am, is or are before the subject and keep the action verb in its -ing form? Can you ask what, where or why about an action happening now? Practise a yes/no question, an information question and a short answer with a partner.