Question

Change the following into present continuous tense:
The boys ______ play in the garden.

a) The boys is playing in the garden.
b) The boys were playing in the garden.
c) The boys are playing in the garden.
d) The boys have been playing in the garden.

Answer 1

Hint: The present continuous tense is used to refer to an action that is taking place at the moment the speaker is speaking. Use this tense in its accurate format to reach the answer.

Complete answer:

In the given question we have been given a blank and we need to fill the blank with the most accurate form of present continuous tense. For this, we have a set of options of the sentence and we need to choose one from the given four.
To solve the given question we need to change the given sentence into present continuous tense. The present continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action at the moment the speaker is speaking. The syntax for this tense is as follows: an/is/are + present participle.
Now, let us take a look at the given options one by one and find the most suitable option.
Option ‘A’, the boys is playing in the garden, is incorrect due to its grammatical inaccuracy.
Option ‘B’, the boys were playing in the garden, is incorrect as we need an action that is happening right now but this indicates a happening in the past.
Option ‘D’, the boys have been playing in the garden, is incorrect as it follows the format for present perfect continuous tense, instead of the given syntax.
Hence, we can see that option ‘C’, ‘the boys are playing in the garden’, is the correct answer as it follows the given syntax perfectly and there is no grammatical error.

Note: To solve questions related to tense can be quite confusing. Hence, special care must be given to learning the various types and their different uses and formats. Once it is learned, its usage will come naturally to you.