je joue au netball
To say "I play netball" in French, you say je joue au netball.
This phrase is used to state that you participate in the sport of netball.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "I play at the netball". This is because the French construction for playing sports uses the verb jouer followed by the preposition à.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb jouer (to play) requires the preposition à when followed by a sport. In this case, à contracts with the masculine article le to form au. The word joue is the first-person singular conjugation of the verb jouer.
Did you know?
- The word joue in the phrase je joue is a homonym for the French word meaning 'cheek'.
- While netball is used in French, the sport is far more common in English-speaking countries and remains a rarity in France, where le basket-ball dominates the court.
- While jouer is used for team sports like netball, if you were playing an individual sport like swimming, you would use the verb faire instead.
Examples in context
- Madame Dupont, je pratique le netball dans mon temps libre.Mrs. Dupont, I play netball in my free time.
- Je joue au netball tous les samedis.I play netball every Saturday.
- Le soir, je joue au netball avec mes amies.In the evening, I play netball with my friends.
- Je joue au netball dans un club local.I play netball in a local club.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their hobbies.
- LéaEst-ce que tu fais du sport, Lucas ?Do you do any sports, Lucas?
- LucasOui, je joue au netball le samedi.Yes, I play netball on Saturdays.
- LéaC'est super ! Tu joues dans une équipe ?That's great! Do you play on a team?
- LucasOui, je joue avec un club local.Yes, I play with a local club.
