Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[dido4]

He plays the flute.
I play the piano.

Q: Is the article necessary(a must) in the sentences when you play an musical instrument?

That means we have to write sentences like the pattern:

--> play + the + {musical instrument(s)}
-->play the guitar or play the guitars

Thank you

[Anuradha Chepur]

Absolutely.

[lotus]

Hi dido4,

Sometimes we do not use an article.

She plays piano.
She plays the piano.

In the first sentence, it's something she does.

What does your daughter do after school?
She plays piano.

In the second sentence, it's an instrument she plays.

I heard your daughter is in the school orchestra.
Yes, she plays the piano.


--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda

[Anuradha Chepur]

I read that speakers of AmE and also BrE say 'play the guitar' when they talk about their hobbies. I've also invariably come across live usage (play + the + musical instrument) in British and American literature, and I always make it a point to pass on this information to my students when I'm teaching them articles.

http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:mBQJ_uzdsfkJ:www.edufind.com/english/grammar/Determiners3.cfm+articles+grammar+musical+instruments&hl=en&gl=in&ct=clnk&cd=1

However, in everyday usage, people could carelessly drop the article, and a forgiving language that English is, it is allowed, I suppose.