Present Simple (am/is/are, Do/Does) – Grammar Exercises for A1
Grammar » Grammar Exercises for A1 » Simple Present Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are welcoming a group of new clients to your office. You are giving a short presentation to introduce your company, explaining what you do, where you are located, and how your team works.
Read the presentation script below and choose the best option (A, B, or C) to complete each blank.
1 Welcome to TechNova Solutions! We _____ a software development company.
(A) is
(B) are
(C) do
2 Our main office _____ located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
(A) are
(B) is
(C) am
3 We _____ high-quality mobile applications for retail businesses.
(A) creates
(B) creating
(C) create
4 Our company _____ over 500 employees worldwide.
(A) have
(B) has
(C) haves
5 I _____ the Sales Manager, and I am very happy to meet you all today.
(A) am
(B) do
(C) is
6 We _____ hardware; our only focus is software and digital services.
(A) aren’t make
(B) doesn’t make
(C) don’t make
7 _____ you familiar with our newest mobile app, ‘NovaPay’?
(A) Do
(B) Are
(C) Is
8 Let me explain. What exactly _____ our software do for your business?
(A) is
(B) does
(C) do
9 Our software _____ a lot of training to use. It is very simple and friendly.
(A) don’t need
(B) isn’t need
(C) doesn’t need
10 Do we offer 24/7 customer support? Yes, we _____!
(A) are
(B) do
(C) does
11 Our biggest clients _____ usually large international banks.
(A) are
(B) is
(C) do
12 Our customer service team _____ emails within one hour.
(A) answers always
(B) is always answer
(C) always answers
13 Mr. Davis is our CEO. He _____ all the final decisions for the company.
(A) make
(B) makes
(C) is make
14 Where _____ your company store its online data? We use secure cloud servers.
(A) is
(B) do
(C) does
15 Everyone in this company _____ very hard to deliver the best product.
(A) works
(B) work
(C) is work
16 The information in this brochure _____ all the details about our prices.
(A) gives
(B) are give
(C) give
17 We _____ proud of our green energy policy and clean office.
(A) do
(B) are
(C) be
18 Does every employee _____ a company laptop? Yes, they do.
(A) has
(B) have
(C) haves
19 Our servers _____ down. We guarantee 999% uptime for your business.
(A) are never
(B) never do
(C) never are
20 Some small businesses _____ understand the importance of cybersecurity, but we do!
(A) doesn’t
(B) aren’t
(C) don’t
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 B
- Why it’s correct: The subject is “We” (plural), so the correct “to be” verb is “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “is” is for he/she/it. Option C “do” is an action/auxiliary verb, but here we need a linking verb to connect “We” to the noun phrase “a software company”.
2 B
- Why it’s correct: “Our main office” is a singular subject (it), so we use “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “are” is a common mistake if learners focus on the plural word “solutions” in the company name instead of the actual subject “office”. Option C is only for “I”.
3 C
- Why it’s correct: With the subject “We”, the main action verb “create” stays in its base form.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A adds an “-s”, which is only for 3rd person singular (he/she/it). Option B “creating” needs a “to be” verb (are creating) and changes the tense to continuous, which doesn’t fit a general company fact.
4 B
- Why it’s correct: “Our company” is a singular subject (it). The 3rd person singular form of “have” is “has”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “have” is a common mistake because students often think of a company as “many people” (plural). Grammatically, it is a single entity. Option C “haves” does not exist.
5 A
- Why it’s correct: The subject is “I”, so the correct “to be” verb is “am” (I am the Sales Manager).
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “is” is for he/she/it. Option B “do” cannot be used to link a subject to a job title.
6 C
- Why it’s correct: To make a negative sentence with “We” and the action verb “make”, we use “don’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “doesn’t” is for singular subjects. Option A “aren’t make” is a major structural error (mixing the “to be” verb with a base action verb).
7 B
- Why it’s correct: “Familiar” is an adjective. To ask a question with an adjective and the subject “you”, we use the “to be” verb “Are”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “Do” is a common trap; learners often use “Do” for all questions, forgetting that adjectives require “to be”. Option C “Is” is for singular 3rd person subjects.
8 B
- Why it’s correct: “Our software” is a singular subject (it). To ask a question with the action verb “do”, we must use the auxiliary “does”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “do” is for plural subjects. Option A “is” cannot be used with the main action verb “do”.
9 C
- Why it’s correct: “Our software” is singular (it), so the negative auxiliary is “doesn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “don’t” is a common mistake if the learner treats “software” as a plural concept. Option B “isn’t need” mixes “to be” with an action verb.
10 B
- Why it’s correct: In short answers, we match the auxiliary verb from the question (“Do we offer…?”). So, “Yes, we do.”
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “are” is incorrect because the question didn’t ask “Are we…”. Option C “does” is for singular subjects.
11 A
- Why it’s correct: “Our biggest clients” is a plural subject (they), so the “to be” verb is “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “is” is a mistake learners make if they only look at the singular word “company” in previous sentences. Option C “do” cannot link a subject to a noun phrase (“large banks”).
12 C
- Why it’s correct: Adverbs of frequency (always) go before the main action verb (answers). Since “team” is a singular group noun, we add “-s” to the verb.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A places the adverb in the wrong position. Option B incorrectly mixes the “to be” verb with an action verb.
13 B
- Why it’s correct: “He” is a 3rd person singular subject, so the action verb “make” needs an “-s” (makes).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A misses the required “-s”. Option C “is make” is a structural error mixing “to be” and a base verb.
14 C
- Why it’s correct: “Your company” is a singular subject (it). To ask a question with the action verb “store”, we use the auxiliary “does”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “do” is a trap if learners mistakenly think “company” is plural. Option A “is” cannot be used with the action verb “store”.
15 A
- Why it’s correct: The word “Everyone” is an indefinite pronoun, which is always grammatically singular. Therefore, the verb needs an “-s” (works).
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “work” is a very common logical error; learners think “everyone” means a lot of people, so they treat it as plural. Option C mixes “to be” and an action verb.
16 A
- Why it’s correct: The core subject is “The information” (uncountable noun = it), which is singular. Therefore, we add “-s” to the verb (gives).
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “give” is a trap because learners see the plural word “brochures” or “details” nearby and get confused about the real subject. Option B is a structural error.
17 B
- Why it’s correct: “Proud” is an adjective, so we must use the “to be” verb. For “We”, we use “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “do” is a common error when learners forget that feelings/adjectives require “to be”. Option C “be” is unconjugated.
18 B
- Why it’s correct: In a question using the auxiliary “Does”, the main verb MUST return to its base form. The base form is “have”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “has” is a very common mistake; learners see “employee” (singular) and want to use “has”, forgetting that “Does” already carries the 3rd person rule. Option C does not exist.
19 A
- Why it’s correct: Adverbs of frequency (never) go after the “to be” verb (are). So, “are never” is correct.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C has the wrong word order. Option B uses “do”, which is incorrect because “down” acts as an adjective/state here, requiring “to be”.
20 C
- Why it’s correct: “Businesses” is plural (they), so the negative auxiliary is “don’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “doesn’t” is a mistake if learners miss the plural “-es” on “businesses”. Option B “aren’t” cannot be used with the action verb “understand”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Company = Singular: Treat words like the company, the business, the team, and the office as “It”. Always use is, has, or verbs with an -s (e.g., The company has, The team works).
- Clients/Employees = Plural: Treat words ending in “s” like clients, servers, or businesses as “They”. Use are, have, and base verbs (e.g., Our clients are happy, The servers work fast).
- Facts vs. Actions: * Use am/is/are for descriptions, locations, and adjectives (We are proud, The office is in London).
- Use Do/Does/Don’t/Doesn’t for actions like make, create, or need (We make software, We don’t make hardware).
- The Golden “Does” Rule: If you ask a question or make a negative sentence about your company (Does the company…? / The company doesn’t…), the main action verb must be completely normal—do not add an “-s” to it! (Does it work? NOT Does it works?).
- Uncountable and Indefinite Subjects: Words like Information, Software, and Everyone are always singular. Use is or verbs with -s.