Fill in the blank with the appropriate form of verb given in the bracket:
Sue is riding a horse. She doesn’t look very confident or comfortable.
You ask: Is this the first time you are riding?
She says: Yes, this is the first time I ________ (ride).
(a)I am riding
(b)I have ridden
(c)I rode
(d)I will ride

Hint: Look for pointers suggesting which tense to use. The actions are ongoing in the given sentence. This is indicative of a certain tense.

Complete answer: The sentence is very clear. The phrase ‘is riding’ is used in the first sentence of the given question. This means that the action is happening right now. So, to convey that an action is ongoing right now, we need to use Present Continuous Tense.

The present continuous, also called the present progressive, is a verb form used in modern English that combines the present tense with the continuous aspect. The present continuous (also called present progressive) is a verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing action is happening now, either at the moment of speech or now in a larger sense.

It is formed using am/is/are + present participle. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and am/is/are. Negatives are made with not.

Now, we know what we are looking for, let’s look at the available options:
(a)I am riding - This phrase is in the present continuous form. This fits perfectly into the context of the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
(b)I have ridden - This phrase is the present perfect form. This does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(c)I rode - This phrase is in the simple past tense. This does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
(d)I will ride - This phrase is in the simple future tense. This does not fit into the context of the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note: Choose the most appropriate option given the context of the sentence. Make sure all the forms of verbs are aligning with each other and work with each other perfectly