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