# Jouer Conjugation — Every Tense of the French Verb “To Play”

> **Jouer** means “to play”. Présent: **je joue, tu joues, il joue, nous jouons, vous jouez, ils jouent** — fully regular. The rule to learn is the preposition: **jouer à** a sport or game, **jouer de** a musical instrument. *Je joue au tennis*, *je joue du piano*.

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Updated: 2026-09-16

## Présent — nothing to watch

Stem jou- plus the standard endings. The only thing to note is that joue, joues, joue and jouent are all pronounced “zhoo” — the silent-ending rule doing its usual work.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je joue | I play |
| tu joues | you play |
| il / elle joue | he / she plays |
| nous jouons | we play |
| vous jouez | you play |
| ils / elles jouent | they play |

## Jouer à or jouer de?

Sports and games take à. Musical instruments take de. Both contract with the article that follows, which is where most of the difficulty actually lives.

| French | Means | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| je joue au tennis | I play tennis | à + le → au |
| je joue aux cartes | I play cards | à + les → aux |
| je joue à la pétanque | I play pétanque | à la stays |
| je joue du piano | I play the piano | de + le → du |
| je joue de la guitare | I play the guitar | de la stays |
| je joue des percussions | I play percussion | de + les → des |

**A way to remember it** — You play against something in a game — an opponent, a rule set — which fits à, the preposition of direction. You play music out of an instrument, which fits de, the preposition of origin. It is not the historical reason, but it holds.

**⚠ And “to play with” is different again** — Jouer avec is playing with something as a toy or a companion — le chat joue avec la balle. Jouer un rôle (to play a part) takes no preposition at all.

## Passé composé — joué

Regular: joué, with avoir. J’ai joué au foot.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai joué | I played / have played |
| tu as joué | you played / have played |
| il / elle a joué | he / she played / have played |
| nous avons joué | we played / have played |
| vous avez joué | you played / have played |
| ils / elles ont joué | they played / have played |

## Imparfait — and a doubled vowel

Je jouais, the tense for what you used to play as a child.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je jouais | I used to play / was playing |
| tu jouais | you used to play / was playing |
| il / elle jouait | he / she used to play / was playing |
| nous jouions | we used to play / was playing |
| vous jouiez | you used to play / was playing |
| ils / elles jouaient | they used to play / was playing |

**nous jouions looks odd and is right** — The stem ends in u and the ending begins with i, giving jouions — very close in sound to the présent jouons. Same near-collision as voyons / voyions.

## Futur and conditionnel

The full infinitive as stem: je jouerai. The e in the middle is silent, so it sounds like “zhoo-RAY”.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je jouerai | I will play |
| tu joueras | you will play |
| il / elle jouera | he / she will play |
| nous jouerons | we will play |
| vous jouerez | you will play |
| ils / elles joueront | they will play |

## Conditionnel — would play

Je jouerais. On jouerait aux cartes ? is a soft way of proposing a game.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je jouerais | I would play |
| tu jouerais | you would play |
| il / elle jouerait | he / she would play |
| nous jouerions | we would play |
| vous joueriez | you would play |
| ils / elles joueraient | they would play |

## Subjonctif — regular

Identical to the présent in four forms, as with every regular -er verb.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| je joue | (that) I play |
| tu joues | (that) you play |
| il / elle joue | (that) he / she play |
| nous jouions | (that) we play |
| vous jouiez | (that) you play |
| ils / elles jouent | (that) they play |

## Impératif — your turn

Joue ! with no s, jouons, jouez. At a table, the phrase for “your turn” is à toi de jouer.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| joue ! | play! (to one person you know) |
| jouons ! | let’s play! |
| jouez ! | play! (formal, or to a group) |

## Plus-que-parfait — had played

J’avais joué.

| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’avais joué | I had played |
| tu avais joué | you had played |
| il / elle avait joué | he / she had played |
| nous avions joué | we had played |
| vous aviez joué | you had played |
| ils / elles avaient joué | they had played |

## FAQ

### How do you conjugate jouer in the present tense?

Je joue, tu joues, il / elle joue, nous jouons, vous jouez, ils / elles jouent. Fully regular.

### Is it jouer à or jouer de?

Jouer à for sports and games — je joue au tennis. Jouer de for musical instruments — je joue du piano.

### How do you say “I play the guitar” in French?

Je joue de la guitare. Instruments take de, and de + la does not contract.

### How do you say “I play football” in French?

Je joue au foot — à + le contracts to au.

### What is the past participle of jouer?

Joué, with avoir.

## Related guides

- Aimer conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/aimer-conjugation
- Regarder conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/regarder-conjugation
- French verb conjugation: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/french-verb-conjugation
- All free French guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides