Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Parisparis]

Hello,

I've heard people saying "I want to play the piano" and "I want to play piano" Which one is correct? and why?

Thank you

[redset]

I think that technically the first one is more correct - the piano is a type of instrument, so you say 'I want to play the piano' when you want to play that specific instrument. The second is very common now though, think of it as meaning 'I want to play (music on the) piano' or 'I want to play piano (music)', where music is an uncountable noun.

So you can use either of them - just remember that 'I want to play the piano' could also be referring to a specific piano (like if you're in the house of someone who owns one).