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