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 just visited a new cafe called “The Cozy Corner” in your city. You had a great experience and decided to leave a 5-star review on Google Maps to tell others about the space, the service, and the food.
Read the review below and choose the best option (A, B, or C) to complete each blank.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 Stars) – Highly Recommended!
1 I _____ very happy to write this review today.
(A) be
(B) am
(C) is
2 “The Cozy Corner” _____ a fantastic new cafe in my town.
(A) is
(B) are
(C) am
3 The space inside the cafe _____ very bright and clean.
(A) are
(B) does
(C) is
4 I really _____ the modern design of this place.
(A) like
(B) likes
(C) am like
5 The chairs _____ very comfortable for sitting and reading.
(A) is
(B) do
(C) are
6 The waiters here _____ always friendly and helpful.
(A) are
(B) is
(C) do
7 They _____ hard to make every customer feel welcome.
(A) tries
(B) try
(C) trys
8 The menu _____ a lot of delicious options for breakfast.
(A) haves
(B) have
(C) has
9 However, the cafe _____ serve hot food. It only has cakes and pastries.
(A) isn’t
(B) doesn’t
(C) don’t
10 _____ the coffee taste good? Yes, absolutely!
(A) Does
(B) Is
(C) Do
11 I usually _____ a cappuccino with almond milk.
(A) order
(B) orders
(C) am order
12 My friend _____ drink coffee, so she always drinks green tea.
(A) doesn’t
(B) isn’t
(C) don’t
13 The cakes in the display case _____ amazing!
(A) looks
(B) is look
(C) look
14 It is a great place, and the drinks _____ expensive.
(A) aren’t
(B) don’t
(C) doesn’t
15 Everyone in this cafe _____ quiet, so it is perfect for studying.
(A) are
(B) is
(C) be
16 The background music _____ too loud, which is great.
(A) isn’t
(B) doesn’t
(C) don’t
17 The owner _____ guests when they walk in the door.
(A) greets always
(B) always greets
(C) is always greet
18 People _____ this cafe because it has very fast free Wi-Fi.
(A) love
(B) loves
(C) are love
19 _____ you want a nice place to relax on the weekend? Come here!
(A) Are
(B) Do
(C) Does
20 I give this cafe 5 stars. It _____ exactly what I need.
(A) does
(B) is
(C) has
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 B
- Why it’s correct: The subject is “I”, so the matching “to be” verb is “am”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “is” is for he/she/it. Option A “be” is the unconjugated base form.
2 A
- Why it’s correct: “The Cozy Corner” is the name of a single place (it). We use the “to be” verb “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “are” is for plural subjects. Option C “am” is only for “I”.
3 C
- Why it’s correct: “The space” is a singular subject (it), and “bright and clean” are adjectives. We use “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “are” is for plural subjects. Option B “does” cannot be used to link a subject to adjectives.
4 A
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” takes the base form of the action verb “like”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “likes” is a mistake because “-s” is only for 3rd person singular (he/she/it). Option C “am like” is a structural error mixing “to be” and an action verb.
5 C
- Why it’s correct: “The chairs” is a plural subject (they), and “comfortable” is an adjective. We use “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “is” is for singular subjects. Option B “do” cannot link a subject to an adjective.
6 A
- Why it’s correct: “The waiters” is plural (they), and “friendly” is an adjective. We use “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “is” is for singular subjects. Option C “do” requires an action verb.
7 B
- Why it’s correct: “They” is a plural subject, so the action verb “try” stays in its base form.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “tries” is only for 3rd person singular. Option C “trys” is a spelling error.
8 C
- Why it’s correct: “The menu” is singular (it). The 3rd person singular form of “have” is “has”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “have” is for I/you/we/they. Option A “haves” is grammatically incorrect.
9 B
- Why it’s correct: “The cafe” is a singular subject (it). To make a negative sentence with the action verb “serve”, we use “doesn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “don’t” is for plural subjects. Option A “isn’t” incorrectly mixes “to be” with an action verb.
10 A
- Why it’s correct: “The coffee” is an uncountable singular subject (it). To ask a question with the action verb “taste”, we use the auxiliary “Does”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “Do” is for plural subjects. Option B “Is” cannot be used with the action verb “taste”.
11 A
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” takes the base form “order”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “orders” incorrectly applies the 3rd person “-s”. Option C mixes “am” with an action verb.
12 A
- Why it’s correct: “My friend” is singular (she). We use “doesn’t” to negate the action verb “drink”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “don’t” is for plurals. Option B “isn’t” cannot be used with an action verb.
13 C
- Why it’s correct: “The cakes” is plural (they), so the verb “look” stays in its base form.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “looks” is a common trap if the learner only looks at the singular word “case” right before the blank. Option B mixes “is” with an action verb.
14 A
- Why it’s correct: “The drinks” is a plural subject (they), and “expensive” is an adjective. To make it negative, we use “aren’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “don’t” and Option C “doesn’t” are common mistakes when learners forget that adjectives require the “to be” verb.
15 B
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “Everyone” is grammatically singular. With the adjective “quiet”, we use “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “are” is a logic trap because “everyone” feels like a plural concept. Option C “be” is unconjugated.
16 A
- Why it’s correct: “The background music” is an uncountable singular subject (it), and “loud” is an adjective. We use “isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options B and C (“doesn’t/don’t”) are incorrect because there is no action verb here.
17 B
- Why it’s correct: Adverbs of frequency (always) go before the main action verb. Since “The owner” is singular, we add “-s” → “always greets”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A has the wrong word order. Option C incorrectly mixes “is” with an action verb.
18 A
- Why it’s correct: “People” is a plural noun (they), so the verb “love” stays in its base form.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B “loves” is a common mistake when learners treat “people” as singular. Option C mixes “are” with an action verb.
19 B
- Why it’s correct: To ask a question with the subject “you” and the action verb “want”, we use “Do”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option C “Does” is for he/she/it. Option A “Are” cannot be used with an action verb.
20 B
- Why it’s correct: “Exactly what I need” functions as a noun phrase describing the state of the cafe (It). We need a linking verb, so “is” is the only correct choice (It is…).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “does” and Option C “has” do not fit the meaning or grammar of linking the subject to its description in this context.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Describing Atmosphere & Quality: Use the “To Be” verb (am/is/are) with adjectives.
- The space is beautiful. * The drinks aren’t expensive.
- The chairs are comfortable.
- Rule to remember: Never use don’t or doesn’t with adjectives!
- Describing Actions & Facts: Use action verbs (serve, taste, look, have).
- It has free Wi-Fi.
- The cafe doesn’t serve hot food.
- The waiters try hard.
- Tricky Plurals: * People is plural → People love this place.
- Everyone is singular → Everyone is quiet.
- Senses as Verbs: Verbs like taste and look act like action verbs in questions and negatives.
- The coffee tastes good. * Does the coffee taste good? (NOT Is the coffee taste good?)