Present Simple (am/is/are, Do/Does) – Grammar Exercises for A1
Grammar » Grammar Exercises for A1 » Simple Present Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Read the email below. Choose the best option (a, b, or c) to complete each blank.
Subject: My Daily Routine!
Hi there!
1 I _____ Pedro from Spain.
(a) is
(b) am
(c) be
2 My hometown _____ very beautiful and quiet.
(a) is
(b) are
(c) am
3 I _____ up at 7:00 a.m. every morning.
(a) getting
(b) gets
(c) get
4 I _____ like waking up early, but I have to go to school!
(a) don’t
(b) am not
(c) doesn’t
5 My mother _____ breakfast for the family at 7:30 a.m.
(a) make
(b) makes
(c) makess
6 _____ you have a busy daily routine?
(a) Are
(b) Does
(c) Do
7 My older brother _____ eat breakfast because he is always late.
(a) doesn’t
(b) don’t
(c) isn’t
8 What time _____ your school start?
(a) is
(b) does
(c) do
9 My friends and I _____ the bus to school at 8:00 a.m.
(a) takes
(b) taking
(c) take
10 We _____ lunch at the school cafeteria at noon.
(a) usually have
(b) have usually
(c) usually has
11 After school, my best friend _____ to football practice.
(a) goes
(b) go
(c) gos
12 I _____ always tired in the evening.
(a) do
(b) am
(c) have
13 _____ your father work in an office?
(a) Does
(b) Do
(c) Is
14 Yes, he _____! He works very hard.
(a) is
(b) does
(c) do
15 My sister _____ a lot of homework to do after dinner.
(a) haves
(b) have
(c) has
16 She _____ hard because she wants to be a doctor.
(a) studies
(b) studys
(c) study
17 Tell me about you. _____ your weekends relaxing or busy?
(a) Are
(b) Do
(c) Is
18 On Sundays, everyone in my family _____ late.
(a) sleep
(b) sleeps
(c) are sleep
19 We _____ at home on Sunday mornings to rest.
(a) usually are
(b) do usually
(c) are usually
20 My parents _____ work on the weekend, so we spend time together.
(a) doesn’t
(b) don’t
(c) aren’t
Please write back soon!
Pedro
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b)
Explanation: The subject is “I”, so the correct form of the verb “to be” is “am”. Option (a) is for he/she/it, and (c) is the unconjugated base verb.
2 (a)
Explanation: “My hometown” is a singular subject (it), so we use “is”. Option (b) is for plural subjects, and (c) is only for “I”.
3 (c)
Explanation: For the subject “I”, we use the base form of the action verb “get”. Option (b) is a common mistake (used only for he/she/it), and (a) is the continuous form which needs a “to be” verb.
4 (a)
Explanation: To make a negative sentence with “I” and an action verb (like), we use “don’t”. Option (b) “am not” is wrong because we don’t mix “to be” with action verbs this way. Option (c) is only for he/she/it.
5 (b)
Explanation: “My mother” is a singular subject (she), so we must add “-s” to the verb → “makes”. Option (a) misses the “-s”, and (c) has incorrect spelling.
6 (c)
Explanation: To ask a question with the subject “you” and an action verb (have), we use the auxiliary verb “Do”. Option (a) “Are” is wrong because “have” is an action verb. Option (b) is only for he/she/it.
7 (a)
Explanation: “My older brother” (he) requires “doesn’t” for negative action verbs. Option (b) is a common mistake (used for I/you/we/they), and (c) is wrong because “eat” is an action verb.
8 (b)
Explanation: “Your school” is a singular subject (it). Questions with singular subjects use “does”. Option (c) is for plurals, and (a) is wrong because “start” is an action verb.
9 (c)
Explanation: “My friends and I” equals “we” (plural). Therefore, the verb stays in its base form “take”. Option (a) is a common mistake for students who only look at “I” or think “friends” requires an “-s” on the verb.
10 (a)
Explanation: Adverbs of frequency (usually, always) go before the main verb (usually have). Option (b) places it in the wrong order. Option (c) is incorrect because the subject is “We”, which takes “have”, not “has”.
11 (a)
Explanation: “My best friend” (he/she) needs the verb to end in “-es”. Verbs ending in ‘o’ take “-es” (goes). Option (b) misses the ending, and (c) is spelled incorrectly.
12 (b)
Explanation: “Tired” is an adjective, so we need the verb “to be”. For “I”, we use “am”. Option (a) is a common mistake when students try to use “do” for everything in Present Simple.
13 (a)
Explanation: “Your father” is a singular subject (he), so the question starts with “Does”. Option (b) is for plurals. Option (c) is wrong because the main verb is “work”.
14 (b)
Explanation: In short answers, we match the auxiliary verb used in the question (“Does your father…”). So, “Yes, he does.” Option (a) is wrong because the question didn’t ask “Is your father…”.
15 (c)
Explanation: “My sister” (she) requires the irregular 3rd person form of “have”, which is “has”. Option (b) is for plural subjects, and (a) is a grammatical error (haves does not exist).
16 (a)
Explanation: For verbs ending in a consonant + y (study), we drop the ‘y’ and add “-ies” (studies). Option (b) is a common spelling mistake, and (c) misses the 3rd person ending.
17 (a)
Explanation: “Your weekends” is plural (they), and “relaxing or busy” are adjectives. Therefore, we need the plural “to be” verb: “Are”. Option (b) “Do” is wrong because there is no action verb here.
18 (b)
Explanation: Indefinite pronouns like “everyone”, “everybody”, or “someone” are always treated as singular subjects in English, so the verb needs an “-s” (sleeps). Option (a) is a common trap for students who think “everyone” is plural.
19 (c)
Explanation: Adverbs of frequency (usually) go after the verb “to be”. Therefore, “are usually” is correct. Option (a) uses the wrong word order, which is a very common mistake.
20 (b)
Explanation: “My parents” is plural (they). The negative auxiliary for plural subjects is “don’t”. Option (a) is for singular subjects. Option (c) “aren’t” is wrong because “work” is an action verb.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The “To Be” verb (am/is/are): Use this for descriptions, ages, locations, and feelings (e.g., I am tired, The city is beautiful). Do NOT use “do/does” with “to be”.
- Action Verbs (Play, eat, go, sleep): * For I, You, We, They, use the base form (I play).
- For He, She, It, add -s or -es (She plays, He goes).
- Questions and Negatives (Do/Does): When making a question or a negative sentence with an action verb, use don’t/doesn’t or Do/Does. Remember: once you use does or doesn’t, the main verb goes back to normal (No “-s”! → Does he work?, NOT Does he works?).
- Adverbs of Frequency (always, usually, never): These words go before normal action verbs (I usually eat), but after the “to be” verb (I am usually happy).
“Everyone” is singular: Words like everyone or everybody feel plural, but in grammar, they act like he/she/it (e.g., Everyone loves pizza).