Which answer choice contains all of the words from the noun phrase from the sentence :
the incredibly ugly and silly dog raced up and down the stairs in anticipation of dinner.
a) silly dog
b) ugly and silly dog
c) incredibly ugly and silly dog
d) the incredibly ugly and silly dog

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.