Use the present continuous tense with action verbs and time expressions like, "at the moment."
Use the present simple with adverbs of frequency such as 'usually', 'often', 'sometimes', etc.
The present continuous can be used to discuss something happening around the moment of speaking.
Use the present continuous tense to describe an event that is planned for the future.
Use the present simple tense for stative verbs (verbs that express a state, a feeling, an opinion, etc.).
Use the present simple tense to describe something that happens every day.
Use the simple present tense to speak about someone's usual behaviour.
Use the present simple tense for stative verbs (verbs that express a state, a feeling, an opinion, etc.).
Use the present continuous to speak about scheduled events, especially when using business English.
A desire is not an action, so it is a stative verb (a verb that expresses a state, feeling, opinion, etc.) The present continuous is not used with stative verbs.
'Hope' is a stative verb (a verb that expresses a state, feeling, opinion, etc.) and is not used with the continuous form.
Use the present continuous tense to describe something that is happening at the exact moment of speech.
In this case, both answers could be right, but would have a slightly different meaning. "My friends are working..." would mean that the friends are working right now, at this time and could be an answer to the question, "Where are your friends?"
"My friends work..." implies a habitual action; in other words, that the friends have jobs at the factory but not that they are necessarily working there at the moment.
The word "always" is a clue; we use the present continuous to talk about how something that happens often.
Use the present continuous to describe something that is happening right now.
This is the passive form of the continuous. The plural form of "to be" is required, because the sentence is about more than one child.