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