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