Which one should you use?
While Je joue au football is the standard way to refer to the sport, note that if you were talking about playing a musical instrument, you would use the construction jouer de (for example, Je joue du piano).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express this depending on the setting. Je joue au football is the standard form. For a formal context, you can use Je pratique le football. In informal or casual conversation, you can use Je joue au foot or Je fais du foot.
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing that you play a sport or a game, the verb jouer must be followed by the preposition à combined with a definite article. For masculine sports like football, this results in au.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid omitting the article and preposition. Do not say Je joue football, but instead use the correct form Je joue au football.
Did you know?
- In France, if you say Je joue au foot, you are referring to the sport the rest of the English-speaking world calls 'soccer'.
- The word football in the phrase Je joue au football is a direct loanword from English.
- In French, a person who is an obsessed or extreme football fanatic might be called a footeux, a slang term derived from the shortened version of the sport.
Examples in context
- Je joue au football.I play football.This sentence is useful for stating that you play football.Tatoeba #2175510 by frog1011, translation #2175511 by frog1011
- Je joue au football le samedi.I play football on Saturdays.
- Je joue au football avec mes amis.I play football with my friends.
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are talking about their hobbies at a cafe.
- EmmaEst-ce que tu aimes le sport, Hugo ?Do you like sports, Hugo?
- HugoOui, je joue au football régulièrement.Yes, I play football regularly.
- EmmaMoi aussi, je joue au football tous les dimanches.Me too, I play football every Sunday.
- HugoC'est super, nous pourrions jouer ensemble !That's great, we could play together!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries football, je, joue, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
