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