A1 · Beginner

A1 Grammar Exercises with Answers

A1 grammar is small enough to list on one page and hard enough to take a few months to make automatic. There are really only seven structures at this level, and almost every beginner sentence is built from them: the verb be, a and an, plural nouns, the present simple, can, have got, and the past of be. The exercises below drill the five that cause the most trouble.

The difficulty at A1 is not that the rules are complicated. "She is a teacher" contains nothing subtle. The difficulty is speed — under the pressure of an actual conversation the wrong form arrives first, and the only cure is having produced the right one enough times that it arrives instead. That is what exercises are for, and it is why these are short and repeatable rather than long and finished once.

Each set below marks your answer instantly and explains it. If you would rather read the rules first, the A1 grammar lessons cover the same ground in writing; if you would rather find out what you already know, start with exercise one and see how far you get.

3 exercise sets 38 questions Answer key included Free, no sign-up

Written and reviewed by Vugar Novruzov, Academy Director · How we write our lessons

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Exercise 1 — be, and a or an

am / is / are, negatives and questions, and the two indefinite articles.

The verb be is the first verb in English and the one that behaves least like the others. It changes shape three times in the present (am, is, are), it makes its own negatives without help, and it forms questions by moving rather than by adding do. Everything else in English is easier than this, which is a strange but genuinely encouraging thing to know at the start.

Six questions on the present of be, plus a and an.

Complete the sentence: My sister ___ a doctor.are / is / am / be
I ______ from Georgia.word bank: am, are, is, isn't
Tom and Ana ______ at school today.word bank: am, are, is, isn't
The coffee ______ still hot.word bank: am, are, is, isn't
It ______ Monday — it is Tuesday.word bank: am, are, is, isn't
She has ___ umbrella in her bag.a / an / the / some
___ you a student here?Is / Am / Are / Do
He is ___ university lecturer.an / a / the / any
Which sentence is correct?I not am ready. / I am not ready. / I am no ready. / I no am ready.
My parents ___ at home this week.is / am / are / be
It ___ an easy question.are / am / be / is

Show the answer key for be, and a or an

My sister ___ a doctor.: is — One person, third person, so is.
I ___ from Georgia.: am — I is the only subject that takes am.
Tom and Ana ___ at school.: are — Two people, so the plural are.
The coffee ___ still hot.: is — One uncountable thing behaves as singular.
It ___ Monday.: isn't — The sentence denies it, so the negative form is needed.
She has ___ umbrella.: an — An goes before a vowel sound.
___ you a student?: Are — Be forms questions by moving in front of the subject.
He is ___ university lecturer.: a — University starts with a consonant sound despite the vowel letter.
Correct negative: I am not ready. — Not follows be directly; no auxiliary is added.
My parents ___ at home.: are — Plural subject.
It ___ an easy question.: is — It takes is.

Exercise 2 — present simple

The third-person -s, and questions and negatives with do and does.

The present simple describes what is generally true: routines, habits, facts, timetables. Its only real complication is a single letter. He, she and it add -s to the verb, and every other subject does not. That one letter is probably the most frequently omitted thing in beginner English, and the exercise below is built almost entirely around it.

Seven questions on the present simple.

Complete: My brother ___ in Berlin.live / lives / living / is live
Sort the subjects: does the verb take -s?: my father, they, the dog, you, we, everybodycategories: verb + -s / verb, no -s
___ she speak French?Do / Does / Is / Has
They ___ television in the evening.watches / watch / watching / watchs
He ___ coffee.don't like / doesn't likes / doesn't like / not likes
The shop ___ at nine every morning.open / opens / is opening / opened
Which sentence is correct?Do you works here? / Does you work here? / Do you work here? / You do work here?
My friends ___ football on Sundays.plays / play / is playing / playing
She ___ to work by bus.go / gos / goes / going

Show the answer key for present simple

My brother ___ in Berlin.: lives — He, she and it add -s.
Sorting: my father, the dog, everybody: verb + -s — Each can be replaced by he, she or it. Everybody looks plural but is grammatically singular.
Sorting: they, you, we: verb, no -s — None of these is third person singular.
___ she speak French?: Does — Questions in the third person use does.
They ___ television.: watch — Plural subject, no -s.
He ___ coffee.: doesn't like — The auxiliary carries the -s, so the main verb does not.
The shop ___ at nine.: opens — A timetable is a present-simple use.
Correct question: Do you work here? — Do with you, and the base form after it.
My friends ___ football.: play — Plural subject.
She ___ to work by bus.: goes — Verbs in -o take -es.

Exercise 3 — was, were and can

The past of be, and the first modal verb you will meet.

Was and were are the first past forms most learners meet, and they arrive well before the past simple of ordinary verbs because be is needed constantly. Can is the first modal: it never adds -s, it is never followed by to, and it makes questions by moving. Learning those three properties now saves a great deal of trouble later, because every other modal behaves the same way.

Six questions on was, were and can.

Complete: The weather ___ terrible yesterday.were / was / is / are
Sort the subjects: was or were?: I, they, the film, you, my friends, itcategories: … was / … were
We ___ at the beach all afternoon.was / were / is / are
She ___ swim when she was four.cans / could / can / is able
I ___ speak three languages.can / cans / can to / am can
___ you at home last night?Was / Were / Did / Are
He ___ come to the party — he is working.can't / doesn't can / not can / cans not
The shops ___ open on Sunday.wasn't / weren't / didn't / aren't was

Show the answer key for was, were and can

The weather ___ terrible.: was — Singular subject, past time.
Sorting: I, the film, it: … was — Was covers I and any single person or thing.
Sorting: they, you, my friends: … were — Were covers plurals, and you takes it even for one person.
We ___ at the beach.: were — Plural subject.
She ___ swim when she was four.: could — Could is the past of can.
I ___ speak three languages.: can — Modals take no -s and no to.
___ you at home last night?: Were — You takes were; be inverts to form a question.
He ___ come to the party.: can't — Modals form negatives without do.
The shops ___ open on Sunday.: weren't — Plural subject in the past.

What counts as A1 grammar

A1 is the first CEFR level. It covers the language you need to introduce yourself, describe your immediate surroundings and handle very simple exchanges. In grammatical terms that is a short list:

the present of be — am, is, are, and the negatives and questions built from them
a and an, and when a singular noun needs neither
regular and irregular plural nouns
the present simple, including the third-person -s and do/does questions
can and can't for ability and permission
have got for possession
was and were — the past of be, which arrives before any other past form

Everything past that — the past simple of ordinary verbs, the present continuous used for the future, comparatives — belongs to A2. If a rule feels far harder than the ones above, it is probably not A1 and there is no reason to be stuck on it yet.

Three mistakes almost every beginner makes

These three account for a large share of A1 errors, and all three are worth recognising before you start the exercises.

I am agree with you.
I agree with you.
Agree is already a verb in English, so it needs no be in front of it. Many languages express agreement with an adjective, which is where the extra am comes from.
She have a car.
She has a car.
Have becomes has after he, she and it. This is the same third-person -s that catches out likes, goes and does.
He doesn't works here.
He doesn't work here.
Once does carries the -s the main verb loses it. Only one verb in the sentence can be marked for the third person.

Frequently asked questions

What grammar do I need at A1 level?

The verb be, a and an, plural nouns, the present simple, can, have got, and was and were. That list is essentially complete — A1 is a short syllabus studied until it is fast.

Are these A1 exercises suitable for complete beginners?

Yes. They assume you can read the Latin alphabet and nothing else. Every exercise explains its answer, so you can learn the rule from the exercise itself.

Do the A1 exercises include answers?

Yes. Each set is marked as you answer, and there is a written answer key under every set explaining each item.

How long should A1 grammar take?

Most learners studying regularly reach the end of A1 in two to three months. The structures can be understood in an afternoon; making them automatic is what takes the time.

What comes after A1?

A2, which is mostly about time: the past simple of ordinary verbs, the past continuous, both futures and the present perfect. The A2 exercises pick up exactly where these leave off.

Is "have got" the same as "have"?

For possession they mean the same thing. Have got is more common in British speech and forms questions with have (Have you got a pen?), while have forms them with do (Do you have a pen?).