Present tenses quiz

Test your knowledge of present simple, present continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous with this quiz. (And make sure you check out my  past tenses quiz  as well!)
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You can play the interactive version of the quiz or, if you prefer, you can read the text version below it.
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Present simple quiz (text version)
​1. Maria usually _____ before she goes to sleep.
a) is reading
b) read
c) reads
d) is read

2. I _____ my keys. I can't find them anywhere.
a) have lost
b) has lost
c) lose
d) am losing

3. I _____ French for five years.
a) am studying
b) have been studying
c) study
d) has been studying

4. How long _____ you two _____ each other?
a) do … know
b) have … been knowing
c) have … known
d) are … knowing 

5. _____ your homework yet? Yes, I _____ it.
a) Are you doing ... am already doing
b) Have you done ... have already done
c) You have done ... have done already
d) Do you do ... already do

6. This soup _____ delicious.
a) has been tasting
b) has tasted
c) is tasting
d) tastes

7. I'm not hungry. I _____ a sandwich.
a) have just eaten
b) have eaten just
c) am eating
d) eat

8. I _____ "Harry Potter". I'm about halfway through.
a) is reading
b) have read
c) am reading
d) read

9. I _____ twenty emails so far today.
a) have written
b) have been writing
c) am writing
d) write

10. Are you OK? Your eyes are red. _____ you _____?
a) Do you cry
b) Are you crying
c) Have you cried
d) Have you been crying

11. Sorry, he can't come to the phone right now. He _____ a shower.
a) having
b) has had
c) has
d) is having

12. I _____ to Paris tomorrow! My plane _____ at 10.30 am.
a) will fly … will leave
b) am flying … leaves
c) fly … is leaving
d) flying … leave

Answers
1 c
Maria usually READS before she goes to sleep.
We use the present simple for habits. And don’t forget the -s for he/she/it.

2 a
I HAVE LOST my keys.
We use the present perfect to describe a recent action which has a present result. The present result in this situation is that I can’t find my keys or I can’t open the door. In British English, we would always use “have lost” in this situation but in America, they might use the past simple, “lost”.

3 b
I HAVE BEEN LEARNING French for five years.
We use the present perfect continuous to say how long something has continued for. This is only true for actions and “learn” is an action. For non-action verbs, look at number 4.

4 c
How long HAVE you two KNOWN each other?
We use the present perfect to say how long a situation has continued for. “Know” is a non-action verb and so we don’t use the -ing form.

5 b
HAVE YOU DONE your homework yet? Yes, I HAVE ALREADY DONE it.
We use the present perfect with “yet” and “already”, especially in British English. “Already” goes between “have” and “done”.

6 d
This soup TASTES delicious.
Even though this is now, we use the present simple. It is not an action and we don't usually use continuous tenses for non-action verbs.

7 a
I HAVE JUST EATEN a sandwich.
We use the present perfect with “just”, especially in British English. “Just” goes between “have” and “eaten”.

8 c
I AM READING “Harry Potter”.
We use the present continuous for actions which are not happening at exactly at this moment but around now. I’m not reading at this moment but I started the book some time ago, I read a bit every day, and I haven’t finished it yet. 

9 a
I HAVE WRITTEN twenty emails so far today.
We use the present perfect here because we're talking about “time up to now”. Today is not finished (unless it’s bedtime!) Compare this to “I wrote twenty emails yesterday”. “Yesterday” is finished.
Also, we use the present perfect here, not the present perfect continuous because we are talking about the number of emails. Compare this to “I’ve been writing emails all morning.” It’s a continuous activity and no number is mentioned.

10 d
HAVE YOU BEEN CRYING?
We use the present perfect continuous to describe an action that continued for some time but finished recently. There is a present result. The crying finished before I walked into the room but the eyes are still red.

11 d
He IS HAVING a shower.
We use the present continuous to describe actions that are in progress at the moment and are not finished.

12 b
I AM FLYING to Paris tomorrow! My plane LEAVES at 10.30 am.
We can sometimes use present tenses to talk about the future! We use the present continuous to talk about plans and arrangements and the present simple for something that’s scheduled, like a flight.

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Learn more!
You can find more information about the present tenses by clicking these links:
present simple
present continuous
present perfect
present perfect continuous

There's also a quiz on past tenses. Click here to try it!


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