Going on vs. happening

[EL Slava]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #124 "English tense explanations (2)", question 10

In this way we describe what is ......... now.

(a) going
(b) elapsing
(c) taking
(d) happening

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #124 "English tense explanations (2)", answer 10

In this way we describe what is happening now.

Correct answer: (d) happening

Your answer was: incorrect
In this way we describe what is going now.
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why can't i say:going?

English Learner Slava

[Alan]

Hi EL Slava,

What you need in this sentence is a verb that describes the action. The only possible one in the list is happening. If you want to use another verb that is not on the list, you could say going on.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple