Basics: Verb "To Be" - Present Forms (am/is/are)
This challenge contains 15 questions at easy difficulty covering Verb "To Be": Present Forms (am/is/are). Test your knowledge with a mix of question formats!
Try the quiz to check your knowledge!
The correct answers are My group members are completely ignoring my messages., You are the only one who understands my pain., and This whole situation is a nightmare.
"My group members" is plural, so it takes are.
"You" always takes are.
"This whole situation" is singular, so it takes is.
"The deadline" is singular (should be is), and "I" always takes am (should be I am).
Help the detective finish her dramatic case notes.
"The prime suspect ___ an alien masquerading as a high school physics teacher."
The correct answer is is.
"The prime suspect" is a third-person singular noun (he/she/it), so it takes the singular verb "is".
"Are you the mastermind..."
The pronoun "you" always takes the verb "are", even when asking a question.
"And is that powdered sugar..."
"Powdered sugar" is an uncountable noun, which is treated as singular and takes "is".
"I am not amused..."
The pronoun "I" pairs with "am".
Assist the brave student in documenting the suspicious cafeteria meal for the school newspaper. Match each blank with the appropriate verb.
Wait, what exactly is this? The mystery meat isn't moving, but it looks highly suspicious. The mashed potatoes are glowing slightly in the dark. I am definitely ordering a pizza tonight instead!
The mystery meat isn't moving, but it looks highly suspicious.
"Mystery meat" is a singular uncountable noun (it), so it takes the singular negative verb "is not" or "isn't".
The mashed potatoes are glowing slightly in the dark.
"Potatoes" is a plural noun (they), so it requires the plural verb "are".
I am definitely ordering a pizza tonight instead!
The pronoun "I" always pairs with the verb "am" in the present tense.
We are currently standing in the Great Hall.
The plural pronoun "We" takes the verb "are".
The famous ghost of Sir Reginald is not actually real.
"The famous ghost" is a singular subject (he/it), which takes "is".
Honestly, I am just a theater major...
The pronoun "I" always takes the verb "am".
Complete the dramatic diary entry of a high-school student trying to survive finals week. Drag the correct words to complete the sentences.
My biology textbook is heavier than a small car. The final exams are approaching faster than a cheetah on roller skates. Thankfully, I am fueled entirely by coffee and sheer panic.
My biology textbook is heavier than a small car.
"Textbook" is a third-person singular subject (it), so it takes the verb "is".
The final exams are approaching faster than a cheetah on roller skates.
"Exams" is a plural subject (they), which requires the plural verb "are".
Thankfully, I am fueled entirely by coffee and sheer panic.
The first-person singular pronoun "I" always takes the verb "am".
Help the college freshman complete her email to her parents about her chaotic new roommates. Drag the correct verbs to fill in the blanks.
My roommate Dave is obsessed with collecting rubber ducks. I am slowly losing my mind because they squeak all night. We are definitely going to need some heavy-duty earplugs!
My roommate Dave is obsessed with collecting rubber ducks.
Use "is" for the third-person singular subject (Dave / he).
I am slowly losing my mind because they squeak all night.
Use "am" for the first-person singular subject (I).
We are definitely going to need some heavy-duty earplugs!
Use "are" for the first-person plural subject (We).
Complete the freshman's text message to their mom.
"Don't worry, Mom! I ___ eating enough vegetables, although mostly they are just the lettuce on my tacos."
The correct answer is am.
With the first-person singular pronoun "I", we always use the present tense form "am".
I am surviving mostly on instant noodles.
The pronoun "I" always takes the verb "am" in the present tense.
My new roommate, Dave, is completely obsessed with his pet iguana.
"Dave" is a singular third-person subject (he), which takes "is".
The worst part is that the iguana's heat lamps are keeping me awake all night.
"Heat lamps" is a plural noun, which takes the plural verb "are".
The espresso machine is broken again.
"The espresso machine" is a singular noun (it), so we use "is".
My manager and the head baker are arguing loudly.
"My manager and the head baker" forms a compound subject (they), which requires the plural verb "are".
Right now, I am hiding behind a giant pile of coffee beans.
The first-person pronoun "I" always pairs with "am".
Complete the observant barista's thought process during the morning rush.
"Those three students in the corner ___ definitely pretending to study while actually watching cat videos."
The correct answer is are.
"Those three students" is a plural subject (they), which requires the plural verb "are" in the present tense.
The correct answers are I am looking for someone who doesn't mind cape-related accidents. and Weekends are usually spent fighting crime or doing laundry.
I takes am. "Weekends" is plural and takes are.
"Archnemesis" is singular, so it should be "archnemesis is".
"Invisibility" and the pronoun "which" referring to it are singular, so it should be "which is great".
Finish the dramatic text sent by a best friend.
"You ___ the only person in the world who understands my deep, spiritual connection to pizza."
The correct answer is are.
The pronoun "you" always takes the verb form "are" in the present tense, whether it refers to one person or multiple people.
The correct answers are the mystery meatloaf and this slice of cold pizza.
The verb is requires a singular subject or an uncountable noun. "The mystery meatloaf" and "this slice" are both singular. "Peas" and "fries" are plural and would require the verb are.
The correct answers are I am freaking out right now!, My roommate's iguana is missing., and They are incredibly fast for reptiles!
I pairs with am.
My roommate's iguana (it) pairs with is.
They pairs with are.
The incorrect sentences should be "He is usually hiding" and "We are going to be".
Be
The verb be is the most irregular and most-used verb in English. It has eight forms — be, am, is, are, being, was, were, been — more than any other English verb. It works as both a main verb (linking a subject to a complement: She is a doctor) and an auxiliary (forming the progressive tenses I am working and the passive voice It was written).
Almost every sentence you'll ever speak or write uses some form of be. Master its irregular forms early — am/is/are/was/were/been — and the rest of English grammar gets dramatically easier.
Grammatical person
Grammatical person is the distinction between the speaker (first person: I, we), the addressee (second person: you), and everyone or everything else (third person: he, she, it, they). It governs which pronoun you pick and which verb form you use — the only place modern English still marks person on verbs is the third-person singular present -s (she works, not she work).
Person agreement is the source of one of the most common errors in English: dropping the third-person -s (he go instead of he goes). Once it's automatic, the rule is invisible — but it's a constant tell of unfinished basics.
Present tense
The present tense in English has four forms: simple present (I work) for habits, general truths, and stative descriptions; present progressive (I am working) for actions happening right now or temporary situations; present perfect (I have worked) for past actions with present relevance; and present perfect progressive (I have been working) for ongoing actions continuing into the present.
The simple/progressive distinction is one of the trickiest jumps for learners — I work in Paris (habitual) and I'm working in Paris (temporary, right now) feel almost identical but signal different things. Pick wrong and your meaning subtly shifts.
Verb
A verb is a word that expresses an action, a state, or an occurrence — the engine of every English sentence. Most verbs have five forms: base (go), -s form (goes), past tense (went), past participle (gone), and -ing form (going). The verb be is the major exception with eight forms; modal verbs like can and must have fewer.
Verbs carry tense (when), aspect (how it unfolds), mood (the speaker's attitude), and voice (active vs passive). Mastering them is foundational — virtually every other grammar topic depends on getting verbs right.
Questions
Questions in English are typically formed by inverting the subject and an auxiliary verb: She can dance → Can she dance?. When there's no auxiliary present, English adds do-support: The milk goes in the fridge → Does the milk go in the fridge?. The same pattern handles wh-questions (Where do you live?) and negative questions (Doesn't he know?).
The trickiest variant is indirect questions — I wonder where he is, not where is he. The inversion drops because the question is embedded inside another clause. Getting this right is one of the bigger jumps from A2 to B1 fluency.
Negation
Negation in English usually places not after the auxiliary or modal verb: I am not going, She does not know, You must not go. When there's no auxiliary, you add do-support: I go → I do not go. Most combinations contract: don't, can't, won't, isn't.
The trickiest rule for many learners: double negatives are not standard English. I didn't see nothing is non-standard; the standard forms are I saw nothing or I didn't see anything. Negative words like never, nobody, nothing already carry the negation — adding not on top doubles up.
English Grammar Basics
The English Grammar Basics tag marks quizzes and explainers covering the foundations of English grammar — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure.
If you're starting out or rebuilding from scratch, this is the tag to follow: every challenge under it is designed to land the core rules without burying you in exceptions. Get the basics solid here and the more advanced topics — conditionals, reported speech, inversion — stop looking like a wall of new rules and start looking like extensions of what you already know.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
A1 is the starting level of the CEFR framework — the entry point into English. At A1 you can introduce yourself, ask and answer simple personal questions, recognise common signs and instructions, and have short slow-paced conversations on very familiar topics.
Grammatically, A1 covers the building blocks: present-tense forms of be, have, and do; basic word order; simple questions; and the most common determiners, pronouns, and prepositions. Knowing your level matters — A1 material teaches the foundations every later level builds on, while a B1 textbook will overwhelm you. Start here and progress is fast.
Difficulty: Easy
The Easy difficulty tag marks questions and challenges aimed at beginners — typically A1 or early A2 level. Expect single-rule focus, short sentences, common everyday vocabulary, and one clear correct answer. Distractors usually rule themselves out quickly.
Filter by Easy when you're rebuilding fundamentals, warming up before harder material, or testing whether you've truly internalised a basic rule before moving on. Easy doesn't mean trivial — it means the rule itself is unambiguous and the context doesn't pile on extra complications.