I often see Tom _________ (play) soccer with his classmates.

[joham]

I often see Tom _________ (play) soccer with his classmates. This exercise is taken from my English grammar workbook. I used playing for the blank, but the teacher said play was the correct answer. I thought often when I saw him, Tom was playing soccer. So I would think the correct answer would be playing. Am I right?

 

[5jj]

Both forms are possible. In the absence of more context, I would say that 'playing' was more likely.

 

[jutfrank]

The best answer given the context is playing, but it's a poor question.

The infinitive play would work better in a context such as:

I often watch Tom play soccer on Sundays.