Among the myriad of verbs in French, “jouer” stands out as a popular and versatile verb that means “to play.” Whether you're talking about playing an instrument, a sport, or a game, mastering the conjugation of “jouer” is essential for anyone learning French. In this article, we'll take a closer look at how to conjugate this verb in various tenses and moods.
The Infinitive Form
Before diving into conjugations, let's start with the infinitive form of “jouer.” In French, infinitive verbs are the base form and often end in -er, -ir, or -re. “Jouer” belongs to the -er group. Here's the infinitive form:
– Jouer (to play)
Now, let's explore how “jouer” is conjugated in different tenses and moods.
Present Tense (Présent)
The present tense is used to describe actions that are happening right now or habitual actions. To conjugate “jouer” in the present tense, follow this pattern:
– Je joue (I play)
– Tu joues (You play)
– Il/elle/on joue (He/she/one plays)
– Nous jouons (We play)
– Vous jouez (You play)
– Ils/elles jouent (They play)
For example:
– Je joue au tennis. (I play tennis.)
– Nous jouons de la musique. (We play music.)
Past Tense (Passé Composé)
The passé composé is used to talk about actions that happened in the past. To form the passé composé of “jouer”, you'll need the auxiliary verb “avoir” and the past participle “joué.” Here's how it looks:
– J'ai joué (I played)
– Tu as joué (You played)
– Il/elle/on a joué (He/she/one played)
– Nous avons joué (We played)
– Vous avez joué (You played)
– Ils/elles ont joué (They played)
For example:
– J'ai joué au football hier. (I played football yesterday.)
– Elle a joué du piano ce matin. (She played the piano this morning.)
Future Tense (Futur Simple)
The future tense is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future. To conjugate “jouer” in the future tense, add the following endings to the infinitive form:
– Je jouerai (I will play)
– Tu joueras (You will play)
– Il/elle/on jouera (He/she/one will play)
– Nous jouerons (We will play)
– Vous jouerez (You will play)
– Ils/elles joueront (They will play)
For example:
– Je jouerai au théâtre demain soir. (I will play at the theater tomorrow night.)
– Ils joueront au basket cet été. (They will play basketball this summer.)
Imperfect Tense (Imparfait)
The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past. To conjugate “jouer” in the imperfect tense, replace the -er ending with the following:
– Je jouais (I played/was playing)
– Tu jouais (You played/were playing)
– Il/elle/on jouait (He/she/one played/was playing)
– Nous jouions (We played/were playing)
– Vous jouiez (You played/were playing)
– Ils/elles jouaient (They played/were playing)
For example:
– Quand j'étais enfant, je jouais au parc tous les jours. (When I was a child, I used to play at the park every day.)
– Elle jouait du violon dans l'orchestre. (She played the violin in the orchestra.)
Conditional Mood (Conditionnel)
The conditional mood is used to express hypothetical or future actions dependent on a condition. To conjugate “jouer” in the conditional mood, add the following endings to the infinitive form:
– Je jouerais (I would play)
– Tu jouerais (You would play)
– Il/elle/on jouerait (He/she/one would play)
– Nous jouerions (We would play)
– Vous joueriez (You would play)
– Ils/elles joueraient (They would play)
For example:
– Je jouerais du piano si j'avais le temps. (I would play the piano if I had the time.)
– Ils joueraient mieux s'ils s'entraînaient davantage. (They would play better if they practiced more.)
Subjunctive Mood (Subjonctif)
The subjunctive mood is used to express doubt, uncertainty, desire, or necessity. Conjugating “jouer” in the subjunctive mood requires different endings:
– Que je joue (That I play)
– Que tu joues (That you play)
– Qu'il/elle/on joue (That he/she/one plays)
– Que nous jouions (That we play)
– Que vous jouiez (That you play)
– Qu'ils/elles jouent (That they play)
For example:
– Il est nécessaire que tu joues bien. (It is necessary that you play well.)
– Je préfère qu'ils jouent tranquillement. (I prefer that they play calmly.)
10 example sentences with the word “rendre”
Here are 10 example sentences with the word “rendre” in different grammatical tenses:
- Il rend visite à sa grand-mère chaque week-end. (He visits his grandmother every weekend.) – Present tense
- Hier, elle a rendu son livre à la bibliothèque. (Yesterday, she returned her book to the library.) – Past tense (Passé composé)
- Ils rendront leur décision demain matin. (They will render their decision tomorrow morning.) – Future tense
- J'espère qu'il rende son devoir à temps. (I hope he turns in his assignment on time.) – Subjunctive mood
- Les élèves doivent rendre leurs devoirs avant la fin de la semaine. (The students have to turn in their assignments by the end of the week.) – Infinitive
- Nous rendions souvent visite à nos amis quand nous habitions en France. (We used to visit our friends often when we lived in France.) – Imperfect tense
- Si tu ne rends pas cet objet, tu devras le remplacer. (If you don't return this item, you will have to replace it.) – Conditional mood
- Elle rend un hommage émouvant à son professeur. (She is giving an emotional tribute to her teacher.) – Present participle
- Ils rendent service à la communauté en faisant du bénévolat. (They serve the community by volunteering.) – Present tense
- Quand tu auras fini, rends-moi mon livre, s'il te plaît. (When you're done, give me back my book, please.) – Future perfect tense