MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


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

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".