Hello! There is a task to lớn tự some exercises and one of them is :
excuse bầm, anybody / sit / there
'Excuse bầm, but does anybody sit there?'
'Excuse bầm, is anybody sitting there?'
What tự you think about these questions? Is there any point to lớn use Present Continuous because a man who asks this question wants to lớn know this place is miễn phí or not and he wants to lớn know wheter is miễn phí not at the time of questioning but in general ?
'Excuse bầm, is anybody sitting there?'* - you would ask this when: a chair is vacant, but you want to lớn know whether it is spoken for (claimed). You would put this question to lớn the person (or people) you think most likely to lớn know [this will require a little common sense] - they may even be keeping (guarding) that place until its rightful occupant returns.
'Excuse bầm, but does anybody sit there?'** - similar to lớn the above, only you're asking whether the empty chair has a regular rightful occupant; someone with an established custom of sitting there.
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*this question is sometimes construed as 'may I sit here with you?'
**this is a somewhat unusual line of questioning.
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
It may seem strange, but we use the progressive in this context:
"Excuse bầm, is anybody sitting there?"
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At least I think it's strange, because when you ask that question, you can see that no one is sitting there, or you wouldn't ask. I think your idea is correct; we use the progressive because you are asking about whether anyone is sitting there at in general. 
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We wouldn't say, "Excuse bầm, but does anybody sit there?" in most situations, in a restaurant or a theater for instance. To bầm this seems to lớn be asking about a permanent situation. I would ask that only if I were asking about a situation that would last over time, if I were asking about a seat that would be assigned to lớn someone for school year, for instance.
(Thinking more carefully, I realize I would say "sit here" instead of "sit there", if I were talking about a seat in front of bầm.)
We would say "Excuse bầm, does anyone live there?" We can also use the progressive form: 'Is anyone living there?")
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