Present Participle interactive worksheet - Free Printable

Let's solve this grammar exercise step by step. The task is to write the present participle of the verbs given in brackets. The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base form of a verb (with some spelling rules for certain verbs).

---

✔ Rules for forming the present participle:

1. Most verbs: Add -ing
- e.g., *read → reading*, *eat → eating*
2. Verbs ending in -e: Drop the -e, then add -ing
- e.g., *cook → cooking*, *teach → teaching*
3. Verbs ending in -ie: Change -ie to -y, then add -ing
- e.g., *die → dying* (not used here)
4. Verbs ending in consonant + silent -e: Drop the -e and add -ing
- e.g., *go → going*
5. Verbs with one syllable and ending in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC): Double the final consonant, then add -ing
- e.g., *run → running* (not in this list)

Now let’s go through each sentence:

---

1. My mother is ________ a book. (read)

→ reading
✔ "Read" becomes "reading" (add -ing).

---

2. The dog is ________ at the stranger. (bark)

→ barking
✔ "Bark" → "barking" (add -ing).

---

3. They are ________ their dinner. (eat)

→ eating
✔ "Eat" → "eating".

---

4. We are ________ television. (watch)

→ watching
✔ "Watch" → "watching".

---

5. My mother is ________ dinner. (cook)

→ cooking
✔ "Cook" ends in -e → drop -e, add -ing → "cooking".

---

6. They are ________ to swim. (learn)

→ learning
✔ "Learn" → "learning".

---

7. My father is ________ me to drive. (teach)

→ teaching
✔ "Teach" ends in -e → drop -e, add -ing → "teaching".

---

8. The gardener is ________ the yard. (clean)

→ cleaning
✔ "Clean" → "cleaning".

---

9. They are ________ me to play with them. (call)

→ calling
✔ "Call" → "calling".

---

10. She is ________ for a walk in the park. (go)

→ going
✔ "Go" → "going" (drop silent -e? No, "go" doesn't have an -e. Just add -ing).

---

✔ Final Answers:

1. reading
2. barking
3. eating
4. watching
5. cooking
6. learning
7. teaching
8. cleaning
9. calling
10. going

---

📝 Summary:

All these sentences use the present continuous tense:
Subject + am/is/are + [verb-ing]
This structure describes actions happening right now.

Let me know if you'd like a version with explanations for each answer!