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