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General use of the article

General use of the article
Activity Drag&Drop
Activity Drag&Drop
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.
 

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Instructions

Click on the words at the bottom and drag them into the empty boxes of the sentence to complete it.
 

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".

Items

Gapped text Items
All ______________________ cars are very expensive any / some / an / a / the / --
all ______________________ cars in this car park look very expensive the / the / some / -- / any / a / an
Are there ______________________ children in the garden? any / an / -- / some / a / the
______________________ birds can fly -- / any / an / some / the / a
Can you pass me ______________________ sugar, please? -- / some / an / the / any / a
______________________ children spend their life learning a / the / some / an / -- / any
______________________ diamond rings are too expensive for me the / -- / an / some / a / any
Did you see ______________________ tigers? -- / an / some / a / any / the
Do ______________________ English people work hard? any / some / -- / a / the / an
Do ______________________ English people you know work hard? a / some / any / the / -- / an
Do you collect ______________________ stamps? a / the / an / some / -- / any
Do you like ______________________ coffee? I can make you one. any / a / some / an / -- / the
- Do you like ______________________ French wine? - No, I prefer ______________________ sherry -- / -- / some / the / a / the / any / a / an / any / some / an
- Do you like ______________________ coffee? - Yes, but it's a bit too hot, I'll wait an / some / -- / a / any / the
Do you need ______________________ sugar? I can buy it. any / a / the / some / -- / an
Do you need ______________________ umbrella? I've got many. -- / an / a / some / the / any
______________________ grass is green and ______________________ water is transparent any / the / -- / some / a / the / an / some / any / an / a / --
Have you got ______________________ boyfriend? an / some / any / a / the / --
Have you got ______________________ books I can read? a / any / some / -- / an / the
He's got ______________________ big hands a / an / some / any / the / --
Hey, listen to ______________________ birds, they are singing very strangely the / a / an / any / some / --
No thanks, I don't need ______________________ milk some / the / -- / an / a / any
I dreamt of ______________________ man without ______________________ head any / some / some / the / a / an / any / an / -- / the / a / --
I haven't got ______________________ friends here -- / any / an / a / some / the
Sorry, I haven't got ______________________ potatoes left an / a / -- / the / any / some
I can't find ______________________ nice books in this library -- / an / some / the / any / a
I like ______________________ bananas a / -- / any / some / an / the
I like ______________________ Spanish food, but ______________________ Spanish food Lola prepares is the best. any / any / some / -- / a / -- / the / a / an / some / the / an
I need ______________________ bananas. any / an / some / the / -- / a
I only wear ______________________ coat in winter. some / an / any / a / -- / the
I'm not wearing ______________________ ring because I'm not married the / a / any / -- / an / some
In the jungle you can find ______________________ birds and ______________________ monkeys. a / some / any / the / -- / an / the / some / any / -- / an / a
I've got ______________________ birds at home any / the / an / a / some / --
I've got ______________________ friends in China any / a / an / some / the / --
She bought ______________________ new stamps for her collection. the / an / any / some / -- / a
I've seen ______________________ very good films recently. an / a / -- / some / the / any
______________________ pop music always makes me want to dance. any / the / -- / an / some / a
My father is ______________________ doctor a / some / -- / any / an / the
______________________ palm trees don't grow in Scotland some / any / the / an / a / --
Paul has got ______________________ big eyes. -- / any / a / the / an / some
______________________ planes are faster than ______________________ cars. the / -- / any / an / a / the / an / -- / any / some / a / some
Sandra is ______________________ nurse. an / a / -- / any / some / the
She's got ______________________ long face. -- / the / an / some / any / a
Kelly's got ______________________ short fair hair. a / some / the / an / -- / any
______________________ children learn very quickly, but others have problems. -- / some / any / a / the / an
______________________ friends are coming for dinner, so I have to clean ______________________ house. some / -- / any / an / a / -- / some / a / the / any / an / the
______________________ shops are open, but most are closed. an / -- / the / a / any / some
______________________ sugar isn't good for you. any / an / the / -- / a / some
______________________ film wasn't very good, but I liked ______________________ music. some / some / a / -- / an / an / any / a / any / the / -- / the
______________________ zoo was nice, but ______________________ tigers looked very sad. the / any / -- / a / the / a / some / an / an / any / some / --
There are ______________________ eggs in the fridge. the / some / a / -- / an / any
There aren't ______________________ shops open at this time. -- / any / the / an / some / a
______________________ tigers live in Asia. -- / an / the / any / some / a
We haven't got ______________________ tomatoes. any / a / the / -- / some / an
We went to ______________________ zoo with ______________________ children. a / -- / any / some / a / any / an / an / -- / the / the / some
You've got ______________________ very beautiful eyes. the / any / -- / an / some / a
Total number of items: 56

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