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General use of the article

General use of the article
Activity Drag&Drop
Activity Drag&Drop
Complete these sentences with the correct article or with -- (nothing) when no article is possible. IMPORTANT! In sentences where you can correctly put an article or nothing (--), you must use the article for this exercise. Only when nothing (--) is the only possibility, we accept it.
 

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Instructions

Click on the words at the bottom and drag them into the empty boxes of the sentence to complete it.
 

Note: In cases when you can use some/any or no article, it is more normal to use some/any
"I need some milk" is more normal than "I need milk".

When talking in general there is no article
- I like apples   
- tigers live in Asia    
- grass is green and water is transparent

Note: French wine is very expensive (we are not talking about all the wine in general, but we are talking about all the "French wine" in general, so we use no article)

When talking about something particular and known, we use "the" in every case
- the president of Uganda is ill    (we know what president we are talking about)
- the elephants of Africa are bigger than those in Asia
- the wine you sell is excellent

When talking about something particular but unspecified, we use the indefinite article:
- I want an apple  (I don't want a specific apple, any apple is fine, this or that or that one there; if it's an apple, it's ok)
- I want apples = I want some apples
- I want wine = I want some wine
 
The indefinite article "a" ("an" before a vowel) is singular, and so, we cannot use it for plurals or uncountables. Nevertheless, in those cases we can normally use the indefinite article "some" ("any" for interrogatives and negatives).

- I have a book
- I have books = I have some books
- I don't have books = I don't have any books
- Have you got books? = Have you got any books?
 
REMEMBER! "some/any" is an indefinite article, and so, it can only be used when the quantity or number is unspecified and not very big, otherwise, we do not use it (if you have thousands of books you cannot say "I have some books", you have to say "I have books / I have many books"). It means something similar to "a few / a little".

Items

Gapped text Items
All ______________________ cars are very expensive some / a / any / an / -- / the
all ______________________ cars in this car park look very expensive the / an / some / a / -- / any / the
Are there ______________________ children in the garden? -- / the / an / some / a / any
______________________ birds can fly some / -- / a / any / an / the
Can you pass me ______________________ sugar, please? a / some / -- / an / the / any
______________________ children spend their life learning -- / some / an / a / the / any
______________________ diamond rings are too expensive for me a / -- / some / the / an / any
Did you see ______________________ tigers? some / -- / any / the / a / an
Do ______________________ English people work hard? any / some / an / a / the / --
Do ______________________ English people you know work hard? any / -- / some / an / the / a
Do you collect ______________________ stamps? -- / any / the / an / a / some
Do you like ______________________ coffee? I can make you one. the / an / some / -- / any / a
- Do you like ______________________ French wine? - No, I prefer ______________________ sherry any / some / a / the / some / an / -- / the / -- / any / an / a
- Do you like ______________________ coffee? - Yes, but it's a bit too hot, I'll wait an / -- / some / a / the / any
Do you need ______________________ sugar? I can buy it. the / -- / any / some / a / an
Do you need ______________________ umbrella? I've got many. the / any / -- / an / some / a
______________________ grass is green and ______________________ water is transparent any / any / a / an / -- / the / -- / some / some / an / a / the
Have you got ______________________ boyfriend? the / any / an / -- / some / a
Have you got ______________________ books I can read? the / an / -- / a / any / some
He's got ______________________ big hands a / -- / any / some / an / the
Hey, listen to ______________________ birds, they are singing very strangely an / some / the / any / -- / a
No thanks, I don't need ______________________ milk an / some / the / any / a / --
I dreamt of ______________________ man without ______________________ head an / any / a / an / -- / some / any / the / some / -- / a / the
I haven't got ______________________ friends here any / the / some / an / -- / a
Sorry, I haven't got ______________________ potatoes left an / -- / some / a / the / any
I can't find ______________________ nice books in this library an / the / any / a / some / --
I like ______________________ bananas some / the / -- / a / any / an
I like ______________________ Spanish food, but ______________________ Spanish food Lola prepares is the best. an / any / a / the / an / the / some / -- / any / -- / a / some
I need ______________________ bananas. some / an / the / a / any / --
I only wear ______________________ coat in winter. the / an / -- / any / a / some
I'm not wearing ______________________ ring because I'm not married the / an / some / -- / any / a
In the jungle you can find ______________________ birds and ______________________ monkeys. -- / the / a / some / the / some / any / an / a / -- / any / an
I've got ______________________ birds at home an / the / some / a / any / --
I've got ______________________ friends in China a / -- / any / the / some / an
She bought ______________________ new stamps for her collection. -- / the / an / a / some / any
I've seen ______________________ very good films recently. the / some / a / an / -- / any
______________________ pop music always makes me want to dance. a / -- / some / the / any / an
My father is ______________________ doctor a / -- / the / any / some / an
______________________ palm trees don't grow in Scotland -- / some / the / an / a / any
Paul has got ______________________ big eyes. the / some / a / any / -- / an
______________________ planes are faster than ______________________ cars. any / some / an / a / the / the / -- / any / -- / an / a / some
Sandra is ______________________ nurse. any / a / -- / the / some / an
She's got ______________________ long face. the / -- / a / some / an / any
Kelly's got ______________________ short fair hair. -- / a / any / the / an / some
______________________ children learn very quickly, but others have problems. -- / an / any / the / a / some
______________________ friends are coming for dinner, so I have to clean ______________________ house. the / an / -- / an / any / some / any / some / the / a / a / --
______________________ shops are open, but most are closed. -- / a / the / some / an / any
______________________ sugar isn't good for you. an / some / -- / a / the / any
______________________ film wasn't very good, but I liked ______________________ music. an / any / a / a / an / some / any / -- / -- / the / the / some
______________________ zoo was nice, but ______________________ tigers looked very sad. any / an / any / -- / a / the / an / some / -- / the / a / some
There are ______________________ eggs in the fridge. the / an / a / any / -- / some
There aren't ______________________ shops open at this time. some / an / any / the / -- / a
______________________ tigers live in Asia. some / -- / an / any / the / a
We haven't got ______________________ tomatoes. an / some / a / the / any / --
We went to ______________________ zoo with ______________________ children. an / the / some / some / a / -- / a / any / -- / any / the / an
You've got ______________________ very beautiful eyes. -- / an / some / the / a / any
Total number of items: 56
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