French Grammar Explained /
To play - How to use the verb "jouer"
Small talk has the power to open the door to interaction.
We're going to talk about weather *yawn*.
No no, we're much further than that... I want to talk about hobbies! C'est quoi, tes loisirs ?
Pardon ?
Que fais-tu de ton temps libre ?
Je... je... Je ne sais pas.
See? You do need me!
Qu'est-ce que tu fais de ton temps libre ?
What do you do in your free time?
Or you could also ask more concretely.
Tu aimes faire du sport/de la natation/... ?
Do you like sports/swimming/...?
Ou tu préfères jouer au volley ?
Or do you prefer playing volleyball?
Why do you sometimes use du/de la and sometimes au? And what's up with the verbs?
Well observed, look!
to play a game | → | jouer au basket (m) |
to play an instrument | → | jouer du piano (m) |
to do sports with no games | → | faire du yoga (m) |
Summing up
1. We use jouer + , à l', à la, au (à + le), aux (à + les) when we talk about playing a game (team sports, sport games, table games, computer games,...)
2. We use jouer + de l', de la, du (de + le), des (de + les) when we play an instrument.
3. For sports like cycling, swimming, yoga or pilates, we use the verb faire + de l', de la, du, des.
Not too hard to remember, right?
Euh... I'll practice in my next Live Lesson!
Don't worry too much though, French people also mix up things and say: "je fais du tennis" or "je fais de la guitare" even though they're supposed to use "jouer" in both cases!