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