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