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