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