Verb “To Be” – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are showing a family photo on your phone to a new friend. You want to tell your friend about the people in the picture — what they look like (physical appearance) and what kind of people they are (personality).
Choose the best option to complete each sentence.
1 This is my older brother, Leo. He ______ very tall and strong.
(a) is
(b) am
(c) are
2 Look at my little sister in the front. She ______ so funny and sweet!
(a) are
(b) is
(c) has
3 I am the one in the middle. I ______ quite short, but I run very fast!
(a) are
(b) is
(c) am
4 These are my grandparents on the left. They ______ very old, but they love walking.
(a) is
(b) have
(c) are
5 My mom and dad ______ very kind and patient people.
(a) are
(b) is
(c) am
6 This is my cousin, Mark. He ______ shy at all; he loves talking to everyone!
(a) isn’t
(b) doesn’t
(c) aren’t
7 “______ your father strict?” “No, he is very relaxed and easygoing.”
(a) Does
(b) Is
(c) Has
8 Look at my uncle. He ______ bald, and he wears funny glasses.
(a) has
(b) is
(c) does
9 My twin brothers ______ 15 years old, and they ______ very lazy!
(a) are / are
(b) are / is
(c) have / are
10 My aunts ______ quiet. They are always laughing and singing loudly.
(a) don’t
(b) isn’t
(c) aren’t
11 “______ your sisters friendly?” “Yes, they are very nice to everyone.”
(a) Are
(b) Do
(c) Is
12 My uncle and my aunt ______ both doctors, and they are very smart.
(a) is
(b) are
(c) am
13 I ______ as tall as my brother. He is a giant!
(a) don’t be
(b) am not
(c) not am
14 My grandmother ______ a very good cook, and she is always happy.
(a) is
(b) does
(c) has
15 Everyone in my family ______ quite short, except for my dad.
(a) are
(b) is
(c) have
16 “Who ______ the tall man in the back?” “That is my uncle Paul.”
(a) is
(b) does
(c) are
17 Nobody in this picture ______ sad. We are all smiling!
(a) are
(b) do
(c) is
18 My brother ______ very athletic, but he ______ very good at studying.
(a) is / isn’t
(b) is / doesn’t
(c) does / isn’t
19 My sister ______ beautiful, and her hair ______ very long.
(a) is / are
(b) is / is
(c) has / is
20 Even our dog, Max, is in the photo! He ______ small, but his ears ______ very big!
(a) is / is
(b) has / have
(c) is / are
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a) is
- Why it’s correct: “He” is a singular third-person subject, which always takes the verb “is”. We use “To Be” + adjective to describe physical traits.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “am” is only for “I”. (c) “are” is for plural subjects.
2 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: “She” takes “is”. We use “is” to describe personality traits like “funny and sweet”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” is for plural subjects. (c) “has” is a common mistake for learners who translate “she has sweetness” directly from their native language.
3 (c) am
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” always takes “am”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” and (b) “is” do not match the pronoun “I”.
4 (c) are
- Why it’s correct: “They” (the grandparents) is a plural subject, requiring “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “is” is for singular subjects. (b) “have” is a common translation trap (you are old, you do not have old).
5 (a) are
- Why it’s correct: “My mom and dad” means “they” (plural). Therefore, you must use “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “is” is for a single person. (c) “am” is only for “I”.
6 (a) isn’t
- Why it’s correct: The negative form for “He” is “is not” (isn’t). It describes his personality (not shy).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “doesn’t” is used with action verbs (e.g., he doesn’t speak), not with adjectives like “shy”. (c) “aren’t” is for plural subjects.
7 (b) Is
- Why it’s correct: To ask a Yes/No question about someone’s personality (strict), we use “Is + Subject + Adjective?” (Is your father strict?).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “Does” is for action verbs. (c) “Has” is for possession.
8 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: “Bald” (having no hair) is an adjective. We use “He is bald”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “has” is a trap. You can say “He has no hair”, but you must say “He is bald”. (c) “does” is for actions.
9 (a) are / are
- Why it’s correct: “My twin brothers” and “they” are both plural subjects. We use “are” for age (are 15) and “are” for personality (are lazy).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses “is” incorrectly for “they”. (c) uses “have” for age, which is a major English error.
10 (c) aren’t
- Why it’s correct: “My aunts” is plural, so the negative form is “are not” (aren’t).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “don’t” is for actions. (b) “isn’t” is for a singular subject.
11 (a) Are
- Why it’s correct: “Your sisters” is plural (they). The question must start with “Are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “Do” is for action verbs. (c) “Is” is for singular subjects.
12 (b) are
- Why it’s correct: “My uncle and my aunt” is a compound plural subject (they), taking “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “is” fails to recognize that there are two people. (c) “am” is only for “I”.
13 (b) am not
- Why it’s correct: The negative form for “I” is “am not”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “don’t be” is only used for commands. (c) “not am” is the wrong word order.
14 (a) is
- Why it’s correct: “My grandmother” (she) takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “does” and (c) “has” cannot link a subject to a noun phrase describing their identity (“a very good cook”).
15 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “Everyone” is grammatically singular. It must take “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” is a common trap for learners treating “everyone” as plural. (c) “have” is the translation trap for describing height.
16 (a) is
- Why it’s correct: “The tall man” is a singular subject, so the question is “Who is the tall man?”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “does” is for actions. (c) “are” is for plural subjects.
17 (c) is
- Why it’s correct: Just like “everyone”, the pronoun “Nobody” acts as a singular subject and takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” is for plural subjects. (b) “do” is for action verbs.
18 (a) is / isn’t
- Why it’s correct: “My brother” (he) takes “is” for a positive trait (is athletic) and “isn’t” for a negative trait (isn’t good at).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) uses “doesn’t” before an adjective (“good”). (c) uses “does” before an adjective (“athletic”).
19 (b) is / is
- Why it’s correct: “My sister” (she) takes “is”. “Her hair” (it) is an uncountable singular noun, so it also takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses “are” for hair, but hair is uncountable in English. (c) mixes “has”, which doesn’t fit the structure “My sister is beautiful”.
20 (c) is / are
- Why it’s correct: “He” (the dog) takes “is”. “His ears” is plural (they), so it takes “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses “is” for the plural “ears”. (b) uses “has/have”, which is incorrect when the adjective (small/big) comes directly after the verb without a noun.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The “To Be” + Adjective Formula: When you want to describe someone’s appearance (tall, short, beautiful, bald) or personality (funny, shy, smart, lazy), you MUST use the verb To Be (am/is/are).
- Do not use “do/does/don’t/doesn’t” with adjectives.
- ❌ She doesn’t shy. → ✅ She isn’t shy.
- ❌ Do your sisters friendly? → ✅ Are your sisters friendly?
- “To Be” vs. “To Have” for Appearance: This is a tricky area for A1 learners!
- Use To Be with adjectives alone: He is tall. Her hair is long.
- Use To Have when the adjective is attached to a noun: He has a tall body. She has long hair. 3 Hair is Singular: In English, the hair on your head is considered one big mass (uncountable). Always use “is” for hair. (e.g., Her hair is black, NOT Her hair are black).
- Everyone & Nobody: Remember the golden rule—words like everyone, everybody, nobody, and no one are always treated as a single unit (singular). Always use “is“. (e.g., Everyone is smiling).