Verb “To Be” – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are getting ready for work or school in the morning. You look out the window to check the weather. You need to tell your family members what the weather is like so they can wear the right clothes (like a thick coat, sunglasses, or an umbrella) before they leave the house.
Choose the best option to complete each sentence.
1 Look outside! ______ very sunny today. You need your sunglasses.
(a) It is
(b) He is
(c) Is
2 Put on your thick winter coat. It ______ really cold this morning!
(a) am
(b) has
(c) is
3 “______ it windy outside?” “Yes, hold onto your hat!”
(a) Is
(b) Does
(c) Are
4 You don’t need your umbrella today. It ______ rainy right now.
(a) isn’t
(b) doesn’t
(c) aren’t
5 The weather ______ beautiful today. Let’s walk to the train station!
(a) are
(b) is
(c) be
6 Look at the sky. The clouds ______ very dark. I think a storm is coming.
(a) is
(b) are
(c) have
7 Take a jacket because it ______ cloudy and the sky ______ grey.
(a) is / is
(b) are / is
(c) has / has
8 “What ______ the weather like today?” “It is hot and humid.”
(a) does
(b) is
(c) are
9 “______ it cold outside?” “No, it is actually quite warm.”
(a) Do
(b) Is
(c) Has
10 Be careful on the road! The rain ______ very heavy this morning.
(a) is
(b) are
(c) has
11 Wear your boots. The snow ______ deep, and the roads ______ icy.
(a) is / is
(b) are / are
(c) is / are
12 It ______ sunny right now, but it ______ warm. You still need a sweater!
(a) is / isn’t
(b) is / doesn’t
(c) has / isn’t
13 The wind ______ so strong! Don’t use your umbrella; it will break.
(a) are
(b) has
(c) is
14 I don’t want to wait for the bus. It ______ freezing out here!
(a) has
(b) is
(c) does
15 Check the weather app on your phone. What ______ the temperature outside?
(a) is
(b) are
(c) does
16 It is extremely hot today! The temperature ______ 35 degrees!
(a) has
(b) is
(c) are
17 Make sure everyone ______ warmly dressed. The weather is terrible today.
(a) is
(b) are
(c) do
18 It ______ rainy here in the city, but the mountains ______ sunny.
(a) is / is
(b) is / are
(c) are / are
19 I cannot see the buildings across the street. The fog ______ very thick today.
(a) are
(b) has
(c) is
20 “Is it foggy outside this morning?” “Yes, ______.”
(a) it does
(b) it has
(c) it is
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a) It is
- Why it’s correct: In English, we must use the “dummy subject” It to talk about the weather. “It is” + weather adjective (sunny).
- Why the others are wrong: (c) “Is” is missing the subject. (b) “He” is only for a male person, not the weather.
2 (c) is
- Why it’s correct: “It” takes the verb “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “has” is a huge translation trap! In many languages, you say the weather “has” cold or “makes” cold. In English, it always “is” cold. (a) “am” is only for “I”.
3 (a) Is
- Why it’s correct: To ask a Yes/No question about the weather, we put the verb first: “Is it…?”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “Does” is for action verbs, but “windy” is an adjective. (c) “Are” does not match the singular subject “it”.
4 (a) isn’t
- Why it’s correct: The negative form of “It is” is “It is not” (isn’t).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “doesn’t” is used with action verbs (e.g., It doesn’t rain), but not with adjectives like rainy. (c) “aren’t” is for plural subjects.
5 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: “The weather” is an uncountable singular noun (it). It takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” is for plural subjects. (c) “be” is the unconjugated base form.
6 (b) are
- Why it’s correct: “The clouds” is a plural subject (they), requiring “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “is” is for singular subjects. (c) “have” is incorrect for describing physical appearance.
7 (a) is / is
- Why it’s correct: “It” takes “is”. “The sky” is singular, so it also takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) incorrectly uses “are” for “it”. (c) falls into the “has” translation trap.
8 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: The question phrase “What is the weather like?” uses the verb To Be. “The weather” is singular, so it takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “does” is incorrect. (c) “are” is for plural subjects.
9 (b) Is
- Why it’s correct: “Is it cold?” is the correct structure for asking about a weather state.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “Do” is for plural action verbs. (c) “Has” is the translation trap.
10 (a) is
- Why it’s correct: “The rain” is an uncountable noun (singular). It takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “are” is for plural nouns. (c) “has” is the translation trap.
11 (c) is / are
- Why it’s correct: “The snow” is uncountable (singular), taking “is”. “The roads” is plural, taking “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) incorrectly uses “is” for the plural “roads”. (b) incorrectly uses “are” for the singular “snow”.
12 (a) is / isn’t
- Why it’s correct: “It is” (positive state) and “it isn’t” (negative state) show the contrast.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “doesn’t” cannot be used before the adjective “warm”. (c) “has” is the translation trap.
13 (c) is
- Why it’s correct: “The wind” is a singular noun (it), taking “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” is for plural nouns. (b) “has” is the translation trap.
14 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: “It is freezing” (meaning extremely cold).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “has” and (c) “does” are incorrect for describing a state of temperature.
15 (a) is
- Why it’s correct: “The temperature” is a singular subject, so the question uses “is” (What is…?).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “are” is for plural subjects. (c) “does” is for action verbs.
16 (b) is
- Why it’s correct: The subject is “The temperature” (singular), so the verb must be “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (c) “are” is a very tricky trap! Learners see “35 degrees” (plural) and choose “are”, but the actual subject of the sentence is “The temperature”. (a) “has” is the translation trap.
17 (a) is
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “everyone” is always grammatically singular and takes “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “are” is a common trap because “everyone” refers to multiple people. (c) “do” is for action verbs.
18 (b) is / are
- Why it’s correct: “It” takes “is”. “The mountains” is plural (they), taking “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) incorrectly uses “is” for the plural “mountains”. (c) incorrectly uses “are” for “it”.
19 (c) is
- Why it’s correct: “The fog” is an uncountable noun (singular), taking “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “are” is for plural subjects. (b) “has” is the translation trap.
20 (c) it is
- Why it’s correct: For a Yes/No question starting with “Is it…?”, the correct short answer is “Yes, it is.”
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “it does” and (b) “it has” do not match the verb “Is” used in the question.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The “Dummy It”: In English, sentences must always have a subject. Because the weather isn’t a person or a specific object, we use the “Dummy Subject” It.
- Always say: It is sunny. / It is cold.
- Never say: Is sunny. (Missing subject).
2 The Translation Trap (Have/Make vs. Be): In many languages, people say the weather “makes” cold (French, Spanish) or the day “has” heat. Do not translate this into English! In English, the weather is a state of being. Always use the Verb “To Be”.
- ❌ It has hot today.
- ❌ It does cold outside.
- ✅ It is hot today.
- ✅ It is cold outside.
3 Uncountable Weather Nouns: Weather words like rain, snow, fog, wind, weather, and temperature are usually uncountable or singular in this context. They always take “is“.
- The rain is heavy. / The snow is deep.
4 “What is the weather like?”: This is the most common A1 question to ask about the weather. Memorize this exact phrase! Notice it uses “is”, not “does”.