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Mitsuo23 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Is "Can you play a piano" correct?

Hi,


It is my understanding that "the bicycle" in the sentence below means one particular type of vehicles, not one particular bicycle, and I guess it's OK to say, "A bicycle is a convenient means of transportation." "The bicycle" sounds slightly more formal than "A bicycle" in the context.


"The bicycle is a convenient means of transportation."

Now, my question is, is it OK to say, "Can you play a piano?" instead of "Can you play the piano?"? I am wondering this because while both "Can you ride a bike" and "Can you ride the bike" seem acceptable, I feel it's quite wrong, or at least I have never heard of that express, to say "Can you play a piano?"


Do you think it is correct, or is there any reason, I can't say "a + instrument" in English?


Thank you,

M
  

Top answer

" Yes. The articles (a, the, null) are all used.

— AlpheccaStars

  • " Yes.
  • The articles (a, the, null) are all used.
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9 Answers
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mitsuwao23"Can you play a piano?"
Yes. The articles (a, the, null) are all used.
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mitsuwao23 It is my understanding that "the bicycle" in the sentence below means one particular type of vehicles,
Right.
mitsuwao23The bicycle" sounds slightly more formal than "A bicycle" in the context.
I'm not sure I would necessarily characterise the difference in this way. "A bicycle is a convenient means of trans
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AlpheccaStarsYes. The articles (a, the, null) are all used.
My feeling is that "Can you play piano?" is primarily AmE.

I'm not sure whether a similar regional difference exists with "Can you play a piano?", or whether it is a personal variation.
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GPY "A bicycle is a convenient means of transportation" seems to be talking more about an actual bicycle that you might own, rather than the general category.
Exactly.

So, I would like to know if this kind of difference is also applied in the case of "the piano" and "the piano"

AlpeccaStars, (I hope he comes back) since you say you use all
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mitsuwao23So, I would like to know if this kind of difference is also applied in the case of "the piano" and "a piano"
(I assume you mean as shown above.)

In an analogous context, possibly. However, the "Can you play a piano?" sentence is not, for me, a good choice to illustrate this, since "play the piano" i
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Thank you for the reply, GPY

Please let me make sure one thing, well, two things actually.

1) "Can you play a piano" is, at least grammatically, correct.

2) How about "pianos"? I know I sound crazy, but you say, "I like apples" so that makes me think, "I can play pianos (a piano in general)" and that makes me think, "Can you play pianos" is possible.

Am I thin
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mitsuwao231) "Can you play a piano" is, at least grammatically, correct.
Yes, it's grammatically correct (needs a question mark though). It's just that for me it rather goes against the expected idiom.
mitsuwao232) How about "pianos"? I know I sound crazy, but you say, "I like apples" so that makes me think, "I can play pianos (a p
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OK, I got the main idea here. Emotion: smile

Thank you for taking your time.
M
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GPYMy feeling is that "Can you play piano?" is primarily AmE.
You are probably right. It is unusual, but I have heard it. "The" is most common.
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