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 and your friends are planning to cook a big dinner tonight. You are checking the kitchen to see what you have, asking what everyone wants to eat, and making a grocery shopping list.
Read the conversation and choose the best option (A, B, or C) to complete each blank.
1 I _____ very hungry right now. Let’s make a plan for dinner!
(A) am
(B) is
(C) be
2 We _____ a lot of food for the party tonight.
(A) needs
(B) need
(C) are need
3 Oh no, the fridge _____ completely empty.
(A) is
(B) are
(C) does
4 My sister _____ to cook Italian food for us.
(A) want
(B) is want
(C) wants
5 We _____ have any pasta in the kitchen.
(A) doesn’t
(B) don’t
(C) aren’t
6 _____ we need to buy some tomatoes?
(A) Are
(B) Do
(C) Does
7 Mark is allergic to seafood, so he _____ fish.
(A) doesn’t eat
(B) don’t eat
(C) doesn’t eats
8 _____ Sarah like chicken?
(A) Is
(B) Do
(C) Does
9 Yes, she _____! Chicken is her favorite meat.
(A) is
(B) does
(C) do
10 The apples in this supermarket _____ very fresh and sweet.
(A) do
(B) is
(C) are
11 How much milk _____ the recipe require?
(A) does
(B) do
(C) is
12 I _____ a bottle of orange juice, please.
(A) want
(B) am want
(C) wants
13 _____ you thirsty after walking to the store?
(A) Do
(B) Are
(C) Is
14 What _____ everyone want to drink with dinner?
(A) are
(B) does
(C) do
15 My brother and I _____ beef. We prefer pork.
(A) doesn’t like
(B) aren’t like
(C) don’t like
16 The bread _____ look very good today. Let’s buy rice instead.
(A) doesn’t
(B) isn’t
(C) don’t
17 _____ the grocery store have fresh strawberries?
(A) Do
(B) Does
(C) Has
18 No, it _____. We can buy grapes for dessert.
(A) don’t
(B) isn’t
(C) doesn’t
19 I _____ some help with these heavy shopping bags!
(A) need
(B) needs
(C) am need
20 _____ everyone agree with this final shopping list?
(A) Does
(B) Is
(C) Do
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 A
- Why it’s correct: The subject is “I”, so the correct “to be” verb is “am”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “is” is a common mistake used only for he/she/it. Option C “be” is the unconjugated base form and is grammatically incorrect here.
2 B
- Why it’s correct: “We” is a plural subject, so the action verb “need” stays in its base form.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “needs” incorrectly adds an “-s”, which is only for 3rd person singular. Option C “are need” is a grammatical error that mixes the “to be” verb with an action verb.
3 A
- Why it’s correct: “The fridge” is a singular subject (it), so we use the “to be” verb “is”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “are” is for plural subjects. Option C “does” is an action auxiliary and cannot link a subject to an adjective (“empty”).
4 C
- Why it’s correct: “My sister” is a singular subject (she), so we add “-s” to the verb → “wants”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “want” is a common mistake where the learner forgets the 3rd person “-s”. Option B “is want” structurally mixes “to be” and an action verb.
5 B
- Why it’s correct: To make a negative sentence with “We” and the action verb “have”, we use “don’t”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “doesn’t” is for singular subjects (he/she/it). Option C “aren’t” is wrong because “have” is an action verb, so we cannot use the “to be” verb to negate it.
6 B
- Why it’s correct: To ask a question with “we” and the action verb “need”, we use the auxiliary “Do”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “Are” is incorrect because “need” is an action verb. Option C “Does” is for singular subjects.
7 A
- Why it’s correct: “He” requires the negative auxiliary “doesn’t”. The main verb “eat” must stay in its base form.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “don’t eat” is a common mistake applying plural rules to a singular subject. Option C “doesn’t eats” is a grammatical error because you cannot keep the “-s” on the main verb after using “doesn’t”.
8 C
- Why it’s correct: “Sarah” is singular (she). To ask a question with the action verb “like”, we use “Does”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “Do” is for plural subjects. Option A “Is” cannot be used to ask a question with an action verb.
9 B
- Why it’s correct: In short answers, we match the auxiliary used in the question (“Does Sarah…?”). The answer is “Yes, she does.”
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “is” is a common conversational mistake, but grammatically incorrect because the question didn’t ask “Is she…”. Option C “do” is for plurals.
10 C
- Why it’s correct: “The apples” is a plural subject (they), and “fresh” is an adjective. We use the plural “to be” verb “are”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “is” is a trap if the learner only looks at the singular word “supermarket” instead of the true subject “apples”. Option A “do” cannot link to an adjective.
11 A
- Why it’s correct: “The recipe” is a singular subject (it), and “require” is an action verb. We use the auxiliary “does”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “do” is a mistake if the learner thinks “milk” (uncountable) requires plural treatment. Option C “is” cannot be used with the action verb “require”.
12 A
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” takes the base form “want”. State verbs like “want” express current needs perfectly in the Present Simple.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option C “wants” incorrectly adds the 3rd person “-s”. Option B “am want” mixes “to be” with an action verb.
13 B
- Why it’s correct: “Thirsty” is an adjective describing a state. For the subject “you”, we use “Are”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “Do” is a very common trap; learners often use “Do” for all questions, forgetting that adjectives require “to be”. Option C “Is” is for he/she/it.
14 B
- Why it’s correct: The pronoun “everyone” is always grammatically singular. To ask a question with the action verb “want”, we use “does”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option C “do” is a common logic trap because “everyone” sounds like a plural group of people. Option A “are” cannot be used with an action verb.
15 C
- Why it’s correct: “My brother and I” equals “we” (plural). Therefore, the negative auxiliary is “don’t”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “doesn’t like” is a mistake if the learner only looks at the word “I” or “brother” individually instead of as a pair. Option B “aren’t like” structurally mixes “to be” with an action verb.
16 A
- Why it’s correct: “The bread” is an uncountable noun, which acts as a singular subject (it). We use “doesn’t” before the action verb “look”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option C “don’t” is a mistake if the learner assumes food categories are plural. Option B “isn’t” cannot be used with the action verb “look”.
17 B
- Why it’s correct: “The grocery store” is singular (it). We use the auxiliary “Does” to ask a question with the action verb “have”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “Do” is for plural subjects. Option C “Has” is a structural error; we do not start Present Simple questions with “Has” in modern English (we use Does… have).
18 C
- Why it’s correct: Short answers match the auxiliary from the question (“Does the grocery store…?”). The negative is “doesn’t”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option A “don’t” is for plural subjects. Option B “isn’t” is wrong because the question didn’t ask “Is it…”.
19 A
- Why it’s correct: The subject “I” takes the base form of the verb “need”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option B “needs” incorrectly applies the 3rd person “-s” rule. Option C “am need” is a common structural error mixing “to be” with a base verb.
20 A
- Why it’s correct: “Everyone” is a singular pronoun. We use the auxiliary “Does” to ask a question with the action verb “agree”.
- Analyzing the distractors: Option C “Do” is a trap for students who treat “everyone” as plural. Option B “Is” cannot be used with the action verb “agree”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Needs and Wants are Facts: Verbs like want, need, like, and have are called state verbs. Even if you want something right now, you usually use the Present Simple, not the continuous form (Say: I want juice, NOT I am wanting juice).
- Adjective vs. Action: * If you use an adjective to describe how you feel (hungry, thirsty, full), use am/is/are.
- If you use an action verb to describe what you want to do (want, need, eat), use do/does/don’t/doesn’t.
- Watch out for “Everyone”: Words like everyone and everybody mean all the people, but the grammar rule treats them as ONE single unit (like “it”). Always use is, does, or verbs with an -s!
- Uncountable Food: Things you can’t easily count like water, milk, bread, and rice are treated as singular (it). Use is or doesn’t.