Year 10 English — Small words in a gap-fill

Fill the articles, determiners and prepositions an exam-style gap-fill leaves out.

Name: ________________________

1.Sort each determiner by the kind of noun it goes with.
Groups: Countable plural nouns · Uncountable nouns
- much
- several
- little
- a great deal of
- few
- many
2.Put the steps of filling a gap in the order you should do them.
- Finally, write your word in and read the sentence again to hear whether it fits.
- Next, look at the word just before the gap and the word just after it.
- Then decide what kind of word the gap needs — an article, a determiner or a preposition.
- First, read the whole passage once without filling anything in.
3.Kavi is ____ honest boy, and everyone in the lane trusts him.
- a) the
- b) a
- c) no word at all
- d) an
4.He has ____ money, so he cannot buy the book today.
- a) a little
- b) few
- c) a few
- d) little
5.We reached the station ____ half past six.
- a) on
- b) in
- c) from
- d) at
6.Which sentence uses its article correctly?
- a) He is an European by birth.
- b) He is a European by birth.
- c) He is European by a birth.
- d) He is the European by birth.
7.Write one missing word: That film was ____ best I have seen this year.
8.There is very ____ sugar left in the jar.
- a) few
- b) a few
- c) many
- d) little

Answer key — Year 10 English — Small words in a gap-fill

1. many → Countable plural nouns; much → Uncountable nouns; few → Countable plural nouns; little → Uncountable nouns; several → Countable plural nouns; a great deal of → Uncountable nouns
2. 1. First, read the whole passage once without filling anything in. 2. Next, look at the word just before the gap and the word just after it. 3. Then decide what kind of word the gap needs — an article, a determiner or a preposition. 4. Finally, write your word in and read the sentence again to hear whether it fits.
3. d) an
4. d) little
5. d) at
6. b) He is a European by birth.
7. the
8. d) little