LESSON TRANSCRIPT

Top 25 English Questions You

Need to Know S1 #8
Can You Play Musical Instruments?

# 8
COPYRIGHT © 2015 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
In this lesson, you'll learn how to respond to the common question “Can you play
musical instruments?”

Eric: “Can you play musical instruments?”

Becky: T he first word in the question is

Eric: can

Becky: meaning “to be able to” in English.

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) can

Becky: Listen again and repeat.

Eric: can

{Pause}

Becky: T his pattern of first introducing a word at natural speed, providing the
translation, breaking it down, and then giving it again at natural speed will be repeated
throughout the series. T ry to speak aloud as often as possible. T he next word in the
question is

Eric: you

Becky: meaning “the person you're talking to.”

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) you

Becky: Now repeat.

Eric: you

{Pause}

Becky: Listen to the first two words of the question and repeat.

Eric: can you

{pause}

Becky: And after that is

Eric: play

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM T OP 25 ENGLI S H QUES T I ONS YOU NEED T O KNOW S 1 #8 - CAN YOU PLAY MUS I CAL I NS T RUMENT S ? 2
Becky: meaning “to do an activity for fun, to make sounds with musical instruments.”

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) play

Becky: Now repeat.

Eric: play

{Pause}

Becky: Listen to the first three words of the question and repeat.

Eric: can you play

{pause}

Becky: And after that is

Eric: musical instruments

Becky: meaning “things that make music.”

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) musical instruments

Becky: Now repeat.

Eric: musical instruments

{Pause}

Becky: Listen to the entire question and repeat.

Eric: can you play musical instruments?

{pause}

Becky: (You will hear this common question again and again throughout your studies.)
Master the following pattern and responses to the question “Can you play musical
instruments?”

Eric: Yes, I can play the piano.

Becky: "Yes, I can play the piano.” Listen as the phrase is repeated slowly. Repeat the
phrase.

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM T OP 25 ENGLI S H QUES T I ONS YOU NEED T O KNOW S 1 #8 - CAN YOU PLAY MUS I CAL I NS T RUMENT S ? 3
Eric: (Slow) Yes, I can play the piano.

{pause}

Becky: Let's break it down from the beginning. T he first word is

Eric: yes

Becky: T his is an adverb to express agreement.

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) yes

Becky: Now repeat.

Eric: yes

{Pause}

Becky: And next is

Eric: I

Becky: T his is a singular pronoun used by the person speaking.

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) I

Becky:Now repeat.

Eric: I

{Pause}

Becky: And after that,

Eric: can

Becky: meaning “to be able to.”

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) can

Becky: Now repeat.

Eric: can

{Pause}

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM T OP 25 ENGLI S H QUES T I ONS YOU NEED T O KNOW S 1 #8 - CAN YOU PLAY MUS I CAL I NS T RUMENT S ? 4
Becky: And next,

Eric: play

Becky: meaning “to do an activity for fun, to make sounds with musical instruments.”

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) play

Becky:Now repeat.

Eric: play

{Pause}

Becky: And last,

Eric: the piano

Becky: T his is the musical instrument operated from a keyboard.

Eric: (Slow, by syllable) the piano

Becky: Now repeat.

Eric: the piano

{Pause}Becky: Listen to the speaker say “Yes, I can play the piano,” and then repeat.

Eric: Yes, I can play the piano.

{pause}

Becky: T o practice this response using a different instrument, replace “the piano” with
“the violin.”

Eric: the violin

Becky: T his is one of the treble instruments.

Eric: (slow) the violin (regular) the violin

Becky: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “the violin.”

Eric: Yes, I can play the violin.

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM T OP 25 ENGLI S H QUES T I ONS YOU NEED T O KNOW S 1 #8 - CAN YOU PLAY MUS I CAL I NS T RUMENT S ? 5
Becky: It mostly stays the same, just replace “the piano” with “the violin.” Now say,
“Yes, I can play the violin.”

{pause}

Eric: Yes, I can play the violin.

Becky: For more emphasis, replace “the violin” with “the guitar.”

Eric: the guitar

Becky: T his is one of the stringed musical instruments.

Eric: (slow) the guitar (regular) the guitar

Becky: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “the guitar.”

Eric: Yes, I can play the guitar.

Becky: Again, it’s almost the same. Simply replace “the violin” with “the guitar.” Now
try. Say “Yes, I can play the guitar.”

{pause}

Eric: Yes, I can play the guitar.

Becky: T o expand on the pattern, replace “the guitar” with “the trumpet.”

Eric: the trumpet

Becky: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “the trumpet.”

Eric: Yes, I can play the trumpet.

Becky: It mostly stays the same, we just replace “the guitar” with “the trumpet.” Let’s
practice. Say “Yes, I can play the trumpet.”

{pause}

Eric: Yes, I can play the trumpet.

Becky: T o say that you don’t play an instrument in a simple way, just say.

Eric: No I can’t.

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM T OP 25 ENGLI S H QUES T I ONS YOU NEED T O KNOW S 1 #8 - CAN YOU PLAY MUS I CAL I NS T RUMENT S ? 6
Becky: Let's hear it slowly.

Eric: (Slowly) No I can’t.

Becky: And one more time at normal speed.

Eric: No I can’t.

Becky: Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you’re visiting the United States and someone
asks if you can play any musical instruments. You want to answer that you can play
the piano. What do you say?

Eric: Can you play musical instruments? (five seconds) Yes, I can play the piano.

Becky: Now you want to say that you can play the violin. Respond to the question.

Eric: Can you play musical instruments? (five seconds) Yes, I can play the violin.

Becky: Now, you want to say that you can play the guitar. Answer the speaker's
question.

Eric: Can you play musical instruments? (five seconds) Yes, I can play the guitar.

Becky: Now, you want to say that you can play the trumpet. How would you answer?

Eric: Can you play musical instruments? (five seconds) Yes, I can play the trumpet.

Becky: Now you want to ask someone if they can play musical instruments. Ask the
question.

(5 seconds)

Eric: Can you play musical instruments?

{pause}

Becky: Now it's time to give your own answer.

Eric: Can you play musical instruments?

{pause}

Becky: T his is the end of Lesson 8.

ENGLI S HCLAS S 101.COM T OP 25 ENGLI S H QUES T I ONS YOU NEED T O KNOW S 1 #8 - CAN YOU PLAY MUS I CAL I NS T RUMENT S ? 7