{"id":4672,"date":"2021-08-02T15:31:44","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T15:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=4672"},"modified":"2021-08-02T15:31:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T15:31:46","slug":"jugar-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/jugar-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to the \u201cJugar\u201d Conjugation in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gaming online has become a favorite pastime for many people. It\u2019s fun, teaches you new skills, and is a great vehicle for story-telling. Best of all, if you use online features, gaming is a great way to meet people who share the same interests as you! But here\u2019s the thing: what if all the people you meet speak a different language? Fear not, we\u2019re here to help! In this post, we\u2019ll give you a full rundown of how to conjugate the verb \u201cjugar<\/strong>\u201d, meaning to play<\/em>, in Spanish. This post will explore what kind of verb jugar <\/strong>is and some of its different meanings. It will also go over jugar<\/strong> conjugation at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Finally, we\u2019ll finish up with the conditional uses of the verb jugar<\/strong> that you can include in your conversations.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n

<\/a>What Kind of Verb is Jugar<\/em>?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve been following our posts, you\u2019re probably even more of an expert on irregular verbs than we are! The reason we like to teach irregular verbs through these posts is that these verbs can best be learned through memorization, so having verb tables on hand can be really helpful!<\/p>\n

So, you guessed it. The verb jugar is<\/strong> irregular<\/strong>. But if you\u2019re new here, you might be wondering what an \u201cirregular\u201d verb even is. Let me give you a quick explanation. In Spanish, verbs can end in: \u201car<\/strong>\u201d (like jugar), \u201cer<\/strong>\u201d (like comer<\/em>), and \u201cir<\/strong>\u201d (like dormir). The stem<\/strong> of these verbs (that is, the part before ar, er, or ir) determines whether the verb is regular or not.<\/p>\n

In regular<\/strong> conjugation, the stem of the verbs never changes<\/strong>. For example, the verb acabar <\/strong>(to finish<\/em>), is regular, so the stem \u201cacab\u201d never changes no matter how the verb is conjugated (yo acabo, tu acabas, etc\u2026). However, jugar is irregular.<\/strong> That means that depending on what tense and pronoun we\u2019re using, the stem of the verb changes<\/strong>. For instance, \u201cI play<\/em>\u201d becomes yo juego<\/strong>, not \u201cyo jugo\u201d. This is what can make jugar <\/strong>conjugation kind of complicated, and why we\u2019re going to go over it all in this post.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in learning more irregular verbs after jugar<\/strong>, feel free to check out our other irregular conjugation tutorials, for verbs like seguir<\/a>, dormir<\/a>, and salir<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The Different Meanings of Jugar<\/em><\/h2>\n

Before looking at the actual conjugation of jugar, <\/strong>it is useful to go over some of the different meanings of the verb. Most of these differences are pretty subtle and self-explanatory, so you don\u2019t really have to worry too much about getting anything wrong, but it\u2019s still worth knowing.<\/p>\n

Firstly, the obvious one. Jugar<\/strong> means to play<\/em>. However, the word \u201cjuego<\/strong>\u201d means both \u201cplay\u201d <\/em>(as in yo juego\/ <\/strong>\u201cI play\u201d<\/em>), and \u201cgame\u201d. Let me give you two example sentences so you can grasp the difference.<\/p>\n

Yo juego al b\u00e9isbol<\/strong> means I play baseball. <\/em>Conversely, Este juego se llama Monopoly<\/strong> means \u201cThis game is called Monopoly<\/em>\u201d. It is usually pretty easy to tell which version of juego <\/strong>is being used based on the context of the rest of the sentence.<\/p>\n

Another common use for the verb jugar <\/strong>in spanish is the pronominal <\/strong>form of the verb, \u201cjugarse\/jugarte\/jugarnos etc…<\/strong>\u201d which means to gamble or to risk something. For example, the sentence \u201cJuan se jug\u00f3 todo su dinero<\/strong>\u201d means \u201cJuan gambled\/risked all his money<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Finally, the word juguete <\/strong>in Spanish means \u201ctoy\u201d. For example, the sentence \u201cA este ni\u00f1o le gustan los juguetes de madera\u201d<\/strong> means \u201cThis child likes wooden toys.\u201d <\/em>Now, let\u2019s get into some actual conjugation!<\/p>\n

<\/a>Jugar<\/em> Verbals<\/h2>\n

When looking at jugar <\/strong>conjugation, starting with verbs is good because it helps you identify when jugar<\/strong> isn\u2019t acting like a verb in a sentence. Instead, if jugar <\/strong>is present in one of its verbal forms, it is actually acting as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Let\u2019s go over three of these verbal forms: el infinitivo <\/strong>(the infinitive<\/em>), el gerundio <\/strong>(the gerund)<\/em>, and el participio <\/strong>(participle)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Infinitivo (infinitive)<\/em><\/h3>\n

The infinitive<\/em> of the verb jugar <\/strong>is just \u201c<\/strong>jugar\u201d<\/strong>. That\u2019s because, if jugar <\/strong>isn\u2019t the active verb in a sentence, it doesn\u2019t need to be conjugated. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n