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