Jugar al fútbol
In Spain you play al a sport or game: juego al fútbol, jugamos a las cartas. In much of Latin America people drop the article: juego fútbol. For music, never jugar: tocar la guitarra. And jugarse = to risk: te la juegas (you're taking a risk).
Indicative tenses of jugar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | juegoI play |
|---|---|
| tú | juegasyou play |
| él/ella/usted | juegahe/she plays |
| nosotros/as | jugamoswe play |
| vosotros/as | jugáisyou all play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jueganthey play |
Stem change u → ue — jugar is the only Spanish verb with this change: juego, but jugamos.
Preterite indicative
| yo | juguéI played |
|---|---|
| tú | jugasteyou played |
| él/ella/usted | jugóhe/she played |
| nosotros/as | jugamoswe played |
| vosotros/as | jugasteisyou all played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugaronthey played |
Spelling change in the yo form: g → gu (jugué).
Imperfect indicative
| yo | jugabaI used to play |
|---|---|
| tú | jugabasyou used to play |
| él/ella/usted | jugabahe/she used to play |
| nosotros/as | jugábamoswe used to play |
| vosotros/as | jugabaisyou all used to play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugabanthey used to play |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy jugandoI am playing |
|---|---|
| tú | estás jugandoyou are playing |
| él/ella/usted | está jugandohe/she is playing |
| nosotros/as | estamos jugandowe are playing |
| vosotros/as | estáis jugandoyou all are playing |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están jugandothey are playing |
estar + gerund
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a jugarI am going to play |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a jugaryou are going to play |
| él/ella/usted | va a jugarhe/she is going to play |
| nosotros/as | vamos a jugarwe are going to play |
| vosotros/as | vais a jugaryou all are going to play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a jugarthey are going to play |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | jugaréI will play |
|---|---|
| tú | jugarásyou will play |
| él/ella/usted | jugaráhe/she will play |
| nosotros/as | jugaremoswe will play |
| vosotros/as | jugaréisyou all will play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugaránthey will play |
Conditional indicative
| yo | jugaríaI would play |
|---|---|
| tú | jugaríasyou would play |
| él/ella/usted | jugaríahe/she would play |
| nosotros/as | jugaríamoswe would play |
| vosotros/as | jugaríaisyou all would play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugaríanthey would play |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he jugadoI have played |
|---|---|
| tú | has jugadoyou have played |
| él/ella/usted | ha jugadohe/she has played |
| nosotros/as | hemos jugadowe have played |
| vosotros/as | habéis jugadoyou all have played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han jugadothey have played |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había jugadoI had played |
|---|---|
| tú | habías jugadoyou had played |
| él/ella/usted | había jugadohe/she had played |
| nosotros/as | habíamos jugadowe had played |
| vosotros/as | habíais jugadoyou all had played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían jugadothey had played |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré jugadoI will have played |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás jugadoyou will have played |
| él/ella/usted | habrá jugadohe/she will have played |
| nosotros/as | habremos jugadowe will have played |
| vosotros/as | habréis jugadoyou all will have played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán jugadothey will have played |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría jugadoI would have played |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías jugadoyou would have played |
| él/ella/usted | habría jugadohe/she would have played |
| nosotros/as | habríamos jugadowe would have played |
| vosotros/as | habríais jugadoyou all would have played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían jugadothey would have played |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of jugar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | juegue(that) I play |
|---|---|
| tú | juegues(that) you play |
| él/ella/usted | juegue(that) he/she plays |
| nosotros/as | juguemos(that) we play |
| vosotros/as | juguéis(that) you all play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jueguen(that) they play |
Both changes together: juegue (ue + gu), but juguemos.
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | jugara(if) I played |
|---|---|
| tú | jugaras(if) you played |
| él/ella/usted | jugara(if) he/she played |
| nosotros/as | jugáramos(if) we played |
| vosotros/as | jugarais(if) you all played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugaran(if) they played |
Future subjunctive
| yo | jugare(if) I play |
|---|---|
| tú | jugares(if) you play |
| él/ella/usted | jugare(if) he/she plays |
| nosotros/as | jugáremos(if) we play |
| vosotros/as | jugareis(if) you all play |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugaren(if) they play |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya jugado(that) I have played |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas jugado(that) you have played |
| él/ella/usted | haya jugado(that) he/she has played |
| nosotros/as | hayamos jugado(that) we have played |
| vosotros/as | hayáis jugado(that) you all have played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan jugado(that) they have played |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera jugado(if) I had played |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras jugado(if) you had played |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera jugado(if) he/she had played |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos jugado(if) we had played |
| vosotros/as | hubierais jugado(if) you all had played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran jugado(if) they had played |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere jugado(if) I will have played |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres jugado(if) you will have played |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere jugado(if) he/she will have played |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos jugado(if) we will have played |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis jugado(if) you all will have played |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren jugado(if) they will have played |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of jugar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | juegaplay! |
|---|---|
| usted | juegueplay! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | juguemoslet's play! |
| vosotros/as | jugadplay! (you all) |
| ustedes | jueguenplay! (you all, formal) |
Negative imperative
| tú | no jueguesdon't play! |
|---|---|
| usted | no jueguedon't play! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no juguemoslet's not play! |
| vosotros/as | no juguéisdon't play! (you all) |
| ustedes | no jueguendon't play! (you all, formal) |
Practice jugar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and jugar.
How to use jugar
Juego al fútbol los sábados.
I play football on Saturdays.
¿Jugamos a las cartas?
Shall we play cards?
Los niños juegan en el parque.
The kids are playing in the park.
Jugué a la Play toda la noche.
I played PlayStation all night.
Se juega el puesto.
He's putting his job on the line.
Example sentences with jugar
- ¿A qué juegas?What are you playing?
- Mi hijo juega al baloncesto.My son plays basketball.
- Jugamos un partido ayer.We played a match yesterday.
- De pequeños jugábamos en la calle.As kids we used to play in the street.
- El Barça jugará el domingo.Barça will play on Sunday.
- Juega con tu hermano.Play with your brother.
- No juegues con fuego.Don't play with fire.
- ¿Has jugado alguna vez al pádel?Have you ever played padel?
Verbs like jugar
Jugar's ue works like the o → ue verbs volver and poder, and its gu like pagar and llegar. Remember: jugar for games, tocar for music.
Frequently asked questions about jugar
Is jugar regular or irregular?
Jugar is irregular: a u → ue stem change (juego) and a g → gu spelling change (jugué).
How do you conjugate jugar in the present tense?
juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan.
How do you conjugate jugar in the preterite?
jugué, jugaste, jugó, jugamos, jugasteis, jugaron.
Is it "jugar fútbol" or "jugar al fútbol"?
Spain: jugar al fútbol. Much of Latin America: jugar fútbol. Both are understood.
What is the difference between jugar and tocar?
Jugar = play a game or sport. Tocar = play an instrument.
What is the past participle of jugar?
The past participle is jugado and the gerund is jugando.
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All 18 tenses of jugar, on one page.
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