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