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