"He plays the guitar" = "He plays guitars"?

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NOSPAM - 06 Nov 2006 23:38 GMT

Hi,

I'm wondering if the following three sentences are identical in meaning:

1. He plays the guitar.
2. He plays guitars.
3. He plays guitar.

Thanks!

- DJ
Not a native speaker of English

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John Dean - 06 Nov 2006 23:39 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> 2. He plays guitars.
> 3. He plays guitar.

I'd say 1 & 3 mean the same - that someone knows how to play a guitar and
does so. 2 sounds strange although it is grammatically correct. I suppose it
means that someone plays different types of guitar - 6-string, 12-string,
classical, electric, bass, hawaiian, whatever.

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John Dean
Oxford

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matt271829-news@yahoo.co.uk - 07 Nov 2006 00:52 GMT

> > Hi,
> >
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> John Dean
> Oxford

Though virtually synonymous, I think that 3 is marginally more likely
to be used when someone plays the guitar in some sort of recognised
capacity, and 1 otherwise. For example:

"What does Ziggy do in the band?" "He plays guitar"

"Does Ziggy have any musical interests?" "Yes, he plays the guitar"

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T.H. Entity - 07 Nov 2006 09:33 GMT

>> > Hi,
>> >
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
>"Does Ziggy have any musical interests?" "Yes, he plays the guitar"

Agreed. "Plays guitar" is used to distinguish between members of a
band, saying who does what: "Noel plays guitar and Liam sings".

In other circumstances we prefer "the guitar" I think -- at least
Johnny B. Goode didn't "play guitar like a ringin' a bell" but was
duly articled up.

(As for Ziggy, "plays the guitar" just doesn't scan, innit.)

Signature

Ross Howard

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NOSPAM - 08 Nov 2006 04:16 GMT

Thank you all for the replies. They are very helpful!

- DJ

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

"He plays the guitar" = "He plays guitars"?