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I asked the following question about five minutes ago but cannot find it posted. Where do I look for my question and for any replies?
The question was/is: Why can I say "He plays the guitar", but I can't say "He plays the tennis"?
Thankyou
Paul

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

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Now to your question: Below I have reposted part of an answer I gave to someone earlier today who had a similar question.

Nouns can be either "countable", where you can have one, two or ten of them, and so they can be singular or plural (dog/dogs), or "uncountable" where they cannot be plural (e.g. furniture, music, money etc.).
A singular countable noun takes a or an if there is no the/that/my/your etc. in the sentence. (He saw a dog, she ate an apple, he baked that cake, she repaired my car).
The plural of a countable noun does not require an article, although the context may make the or some appropriate. (He likes dogs, she prefers cats, he washed the plates, she made some dresses).
Uncountable nouns may have the/that/my/your etc. or an indicator of quantity like some, a piece of, a bucket of, etc. or nothing in front of them at all. They do not use a/an.
Remember, though, that the same noun may be countable or uncountable, depending on context. For example, "coffee" is uncountable, but it is used as a countable noun when you ask the waiter for "a coffee".

In your example guitar is a countable noun, so has to have the, a, or some such. Tennis is an uncountable noun, so it does not get the in this context. (It could get one in other contexts, such as "the tennis they played was outstanding.")

I hope this helps.

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