Play with vs, Play

A few weeks ago, I had a student who asked me about the difference between:

Play with

and

Play

So, I thought I would explain it here on my blog too.

Play with is used with things/people.

I am playing with my dog.

Go and play with your friends.

Don't play with fire!

Play with fire is also an idiom which means you are playing with something dangerous.

A: Did you hear that Tina is dating John to make Ben jealous?

B: What?! She's playing with fire!

A: I know, I think it won't end well.

Play is used with games. It isn't used with people.

Let's play monopoly!

I played video games yesterday

Do you know how to play baseball?

For more about play please read this earlier post:

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2008/05/silly-rabbit-play-is-for-kids.html

Have a nice Sunday,

Phil