Present Continuous or Simple Present?
100% Original Practice Test
Compare everyday routines with actions happening now at a community bicycle shop. Study the guide, practise 44 questions, then use what you know in four short speaking tasks.
Your Quick Grammar Guide
At the community bicycle shop: volunteers repair bikes, help visitors and check safety equipment. First decide if a sentence describes a routine or an action in progress; then choose the verb form.
1. How to Form It
Simple present · routines, facts and states
Use it for regular actions and things that are generally true.
Positive: I / you / we / they + base verb; he / she / it + verb-s
Example: Jo checks the lights every morning.
Negative: subject + don’t / doesn’t + base verb
Example: Jo doesn’t open the shop on Sundays.
Question: Do / Does + subject + base verb?
Example: Does Jo check the lights every morning?
Remember: after does or doesn’t, the main verb has no -s: check, not checks.
Present continuous · actions in progress
Use it for an action happening now or a temporary activity around now.
Positive: subject + am / is / are + verb-ing
Example: Jo is checking a wheel right now.
Negative: subject + am not / isn’t / aren’t + verb-ing
Example: Jo isn’t checking the lights now.
Question: Am / Is / Are + subject + verb-ing?
Example: Is Jo checking that wheel?
Remember: keep both parts: is + checking. Do not leave out am, is or are.
2. Clue Words & Patterns
Repeated routine
every morningusuallyon Fridaystwice a week
The helpers clean the workbench every morning. This happens again and again, so use the simple present.
Happening now or temporarily
nowat the momentLook!this week
Look! The helpers are cleaning the workbench now. The cleaning is in progress.
Same people, different time
Temporary activity: This week, Kai is helping at the bicycle shop while the community hall is closed. Usual routine: He helps at the hall on Fridays. The first sentence is temporary; the second is repeated.
Clues support meaning; they do not decide alone. “Now” does not always mean continuous: I need a small spanner now. Need describes a state, so the simple present is normally used.
3. Watch Out & Common Mistakes
Check the subject and the whole verb
Wrong: Kai fix bikes every week. Better: Kai fixes bikes every week. Add -es to fix for he, she, it or one person.
Wrong: We are check a wheel now. Better: We are checking a wheel now. After am, is or are, use verb-ing for a continuous action.
Wrong: Does Jo checks the tyres? Better: Does Jo check the tyres? Does is the helper for one person; the main verb stays in its base form.
Stative verbs: verbs such as know, need, like and understand normally describe states, so they usually use the simple present. This is not an absolute rule for every meaning: I’m having a break uses have for an activity.
Self-check 1: Every Saturday, Ben (opens / is opening) the shop.
opens — every Saturday describes a routine; Ben is one person, so the verb takes -s.
Self-check 2: Listen! The bell (rings / is ringing).
is ringing — Listen points to an action happening now. Use is + ringing.
Self-check 3: I (know / am knowing) where the pump is.
know — know describes understanding, a state that normally uses the simple present.
Before you answer: What does the sentence mean? Is it a routine, a current action or a state? Does the subject match the verb form?
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
Describe one thing the bicycle shop does every day.
Read the model
The team checks the brakes every morning.
Practice 2
Say what one person is doing in the shop now.
Read the model
Ava is putting a new bell on a blue bike.
Practice 3
Ask a partner about a regular bicycle activity with How often.
Read the model
How often do you ride your bike to the park?
Practice 4
Say what you think about a bicycle, using think for an opinion.
Read the model
I think this green bicycle is very comfortable.
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 distinguish a routine from an action happening now? Can you form both tenses and use state verbs such as know and need? Describe a usual activity and what is happening now.