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