This English grammar quiz is designed to help learners determine their proficiency level in the language according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It covers a range of topics and language structures that are typically associated with A1 level learners, such as basic grammar structures, vocabulary related to everyday topics, and simple sentence constructions. The questions are designed to test learners' understanding of basic grammar concepts, such as verb tenses and subject-verb agreement, as well as their ability to use basic vocabulary to communicate in simple and familiar situations.

After taking the quiz, learners would be able to see where they stand in terms of their English proficiency and if they are ready to move to the next level. Passing the challenge indicates the control of English grammar enough to move to the next level.

Question 1

Select the correct option:

The book on the shelf is _________________________ one I read last week.

"Same" indicates a well-known book, hence the is used.

Question 2

Select the correct option:

_________________________ money do you need for the groceries?

We use how many and how much to ask about quantity. As money is uncountable, we use how much.

Question 3

Select the correct option:

Please, turn the light _________________________.

Turn off is a phrasal verb meaning "cause to stop operating". The particle off can be used before or after the object of the verb.

Question 4

Select the correct option:

We are going to have dinner _________________________ 2:30 pm.

At is used to indicate the exact time of an event.

Question 5

Select the correct option:

Hello! My name _________________________ John.

Name is a singular noun, and this is present tense, so is form is used.

Question 6

Select the correct option:

I _________________________ two miles yesterday.

"Yesterday" indicated past simple tense. "Walk" is a regular verb. For regular verbs, past tense is made from the base form of the verb with -ed.

Question 7

Choose the correct form of the pronoun to complete the sentence:

I am going to the store, do you want to come _________________________?

"With me" is the correct phrase with an object pronoun in this sentence.

Question 8

Select the correct option:

_________________________ cooked the meal?

We use who and direct word order in subject questions.

Question 9

Select the correct option:

This costs _________________________.

Noun goes immediately after the number, e.g., "five apples". We need the plural form of the noun - dollars.

Question 10

Select the correct option:

The store is located _________________________ of the gas station.

To the left indicates the relative location. The other options are incorrect.

Question 11

Select the correct option:

I'm an early bird. I _________________________ up early every morning.

We use present simple when speaking about something that happens regularly in the present.

Article

✅ an hour — ❌ a hour (vowel sound → an)
✅ a university — ❌ an university (consonant sound /j/ → a)
✅ I love coffee — ❌ I love the coffee (generic uncountable → zero article)
✅ the sun — ❌ a sun (unique referent → the)

Articles (a/an, the, and the zero article) signal whether a noun is specific or general. A/an introduces something new; the points to something already known or unique.

Pattern: a/an = "one of many, first mention." The = "you know which one." Zero article = generic or uncountable.

Be

✅ I am tired. / She is tired. / They are tired. — present
✅ I was tired. / They were tired. — past
✅ She is running. — auxiliary for progressive
✅ It was broken. — auxiliary for passive

Be has 8 forms (am/is/are/was/were/be/being/been) — the most irregular verb in English. Two jobs: copula linking subject to complement (She is a doctor) and auxiliary for progressive and passive.

Trap: be changes for person AND number in both present and past. No other English verb does this. Learn the grid: I am / you are / he is / we are + I was / you were / he was / we were.

Grammatical number

✅ The data show… — ❌ The data shows… (traditionally plural)
✅ Each student has a book. — ❌ Each student have a book. (each = singular)
✅ The team is ready. (BrE: are also fine) — collective noun
✅ children, mice, teeth — irregular plurals (no -s)

Grammatical number = singular vs plural on nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Nouns usually add -(e)s; verbs must agree with their subject's number.

Trap: collective nouns (team, staff, data), quantifiers (each, every = singular; both, several = plural), and irregular plurals (children, criteria, phenomena) all cause agreement errors.

Countable and uncountable

✅ some advice — ❌ an advice / advices (uncountable → no article, no plural)
✅ a piece of furniture — ❌ a furniture / furnitures
✅ How much water? — ❌ How many water? (uncountable → much)
✅ fewer people — ❌ less people (countable plural → fewer)

English nouns are either countable (take a/an, form plurals, use many/few) or uncountable (no plural, use much/little). The choice is partly arbitrary and must be memorised.

Test: can you put a number in front? Three chairs → countable. Three furnitures ❌ → uncountable. Use a unit phrase instead: three pieces of furniture.

Phrasal verb

give up = quit — ≠ give + up literally
come across = find by chance — ≠ come + across literally
put up with = tolerate — 3-word phrasal verb
look into = investigate — ≠ physically look inside something

Phrasal verbs = verb + particle/preposition forming a unit with non-literal meaning. There are thousands, and they dominate casual native English. They must be learned as whole units.

Key fact: the particle completely changes the verb's meaning. Look up (search), look after (care for), look into (investigate), look down on (disrespect) — all different.

Past tense

I walked home. — simple past (completed action)
I was walking when it rained. — past progressive (in progress)
I had already left when she arrived. — past perfect (earlier past)
I had been waiting for an hour. — past perfect progressive (duration up to a past point)

Four past tense forms: simple past (done), past progressive (was happening), past perfect (had already happened), past perfect progressive (had been happening). Each encodes different timing relative to other past events.

Pattern: simple past = the story's main timeline. Past progressive = background action. Past perfect = flashback to something even earlier.

Determinative

the — determinative (word class: article)
this — determinative (word class: demonstrative)
my — determinative (word class: possessive)
some — determinative (word class: quantifier)

All four are determinatives — a part-of-speech category. When they sit before a noun and specify which/how many, they're functioning as determiners (a syntactic role).

Key distinction: determinative = what the word is (its class). Determiner = what job it's doing in the sentence. Same word, two different labels at two levels of analysis.

Simple tense

✅ I go to work every day. — present simple (habit)
✅ She went home yesterday. — past simple (completed action)
✅ I will call you later. — future simple (promise/decision)
✅ Water boils at 100°C. — present simple (general truth)

The simple aspect is the default, unmarked verb form. Present simple = habits, facts, schedules. Past simple = completed actions. Future simple = predictions, promises, decisions. No auxiliary needed (except will for future and do for questions/negatives).

Rule: if the action is a fact, habit, completed event, or scheduled future — and you don't need to emphasise it being in-progress or connected to now → simple tense.

Questions

✅ Do you like coffee? — do-support (no existing auxiliary)
✅ Can she swim? — inversion (auxiliary before subject)
✅ Where does he live? — wh-question
✅ You're coming, aren't you? — tag question

Questions require inversion (auxiliary before subject) or do-support (add do/does/did). Types: yes/no (Do you…?), wh- (What/Where/When…?), negative (Don't you…?), tag (…isn't it?).

Rule: find the auxiliary. Move it before the subject. No auxiliary? Add do/does/did. Never use just intonation in written English (You like coffee? is not standard).

Present tense

I work here. — simple present (habit/permanent)
I am working now. — present progressive (happening right now)
I have lived here for 10 years. — present perfect (started past, still true)
I have been waiting for an hour. — present perfect progressive (duration up to now)

Four present tense forms: simple (habits/facts), progressive (now/temporary), perfect (past → present relevance), perfect progressive (ongoing duration). Each encodes a different relationship between the action and the present moment.

Trap: "I am living here for 10 years" ❌ — started in the past + still true = present PERFECT (have lived/have been living), not progressive.

Progressive tense

✅ I am working in London. — temporary, happening now
✅ I work in London. — permanent/habitual (simple)
❌ I am knowing the answer. — stative verb, can't be progressive
✅ She was reading when I arrived. — past progressive (in progress at that moment)

The progressive = be + -ing. Marks actions as ongoing, temporary, or in-progress at a reference time. NOT used with stative verbs (know, believe, own, want, like) unless meaning shifts.

Rule: is the action temporary/in-progress right now? → progressive. Is it a permanent fact, habit, or schedule? → simple. Is it a stative verb? → almost never progressive.

Preposition

✅ interested in — ❌ interested on
✅ good at football — ❌ good in football
✅ depend on — ❌ depend of
✅ arrive at the station — ❌ arrive to the station

Prepositions link nouns to the rest of the sentence: time (at 5pm), place (in London), manner (with care), abstract (afraid of). Most are idiomatic — the "correct" preposition must be memorised with each verb/adjective combination.

Rule: there is no universal rule. English prepositions are learned by combination: interested IN, good AT, depend ON, afraid OF. Your native language's equivalent will often mislead.

Subject

✅ The list of items is wrong. — subject = list (singular), not items
❌ The list of items are wrong. — trapped by nearest noun
✅ Running is good exercise. — gerund as subject
✅ What he said surprised me. — clause as subject

The subject is the noun/pronoun/phrase before the verb that controls its number and person. Finding the true subject — especially through prepositional phrases — is the key to subject-verb agreement.

Rule: strip away prepositional phrases between subject and verb. Whatever's left is the true subject. The list (of items) is wrong.

Pronoun

✅ between you and me — ❌ between you and I (objective case after preposition)
✅ its colour — ❌ it's colour (it's = it is)
✅ She did it herself. — reflexive pronoun
✅ The person who called… — relative pronoun

Pronouns replace nouns: personal (I/me/my), demonstrative (this/that), relative (who/which/that), interrogative (who?/what?), reflexive (myself), indefinite (everyone/nobody). They carry case that nouns have lost.

Trap: pronouns are where English case still matters: I vs me, who vs whom, its vs it's. Get these wrong and it's instantly noticeable.

A1 | Elementary | Beginners

✅ My name is Anna. — present simple of be
✅ Where is the station? — basic *wh-*question
✅ I have two brothers. — possession with have
✅ She likes coffee. — third-person -s

These are A1 sentences — the starting level of the CEFR framework. At A1 you can introduce yourself, ask and answer simple personal questions, and handle basic everyday transactions using present tense, be/have/do, and core vocabulary.

If you can say these but freeze at normal speaking speed, you're solidly A1 — and that's exactly where to start.

Easy

She is a teacher. — one verb form, one rule
I have two cats. — basic possession, short sentence
He doesn't like coffee. — simple negation with do-support
Only one answer is clearly correct; distractors are obviously wrong.

Easy marks beginner-level challenges: A1–early A2, one rule at a time, everyday vocabulary, no trick questions.

Use "Easy" when you want to build confidence on a specific rule without interference from other grammar or tricky contexts.