-ing forms exercise (beginner level)

Complete the following sentences using the –ing form of the verb given in the brackets. Note that you will have to supply appropriate auxiliary verbs as well. Time references are given to indicate whether the sentence is in the present tense or past tense.

An example is given below.

Question: What are you doing there? I ……………………. (write) a poem.

Answer: I am writing a poem.

Hints:

The pronoun I takes the auxiliary verb am or was.

Singular nouns and singular pronouns (he, she, it) take the auxiliary verb is or was.

Plural nouns and plural pronouns (you, they, we) take the auxiliary verb are or were.

Use is, am and are in the present tense. Use was and were in the past tense.

Exercise

1. Who is playing the piano? Rahul ……………………………… (play) the piano.

2. What are the children doing in the park? The children ……………………………. (play) in the park.

3. Where is she going? She …………………………….. (go) to the market.

4. It ………………………… (rain). We can’t go out now.

5. The birds ………………………. (fly) in the sky.

6. Sophia ………………………… (learn) her lessons.

7. When they arrived we …………………………… (have) dinner.

8. I ………………………… (take) a bath when the telephone rang.

9. What is your mother doing now? She ……………………….. (knit) a sweater.

10. What is your father doing now? He ………………………… (read) the newspaper.

11. When I woke up this morning, the sun …………………………… (shine).

12. The baby ……………………….. (cry) because she was in pain.