Jogar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

jogar — to play — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to play a game or a sport, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -gar stem keeps its hard g by writing gu before e and i, so the pretérito perfeito eu form is joguei. The present is jogo, jogas, joga, and the participle is jogado. It is the verb for football, cards and every other game. On this page you will find jogar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the jogar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the jogar present tense page.

Example sentences with jogar

In the present tense

  • “Eu jogo futebol todos os dias.” — “I play football”
  • “Tu jogas futebol todos os dias.” — “You play football”
  • “Ele joga futebol todos os dias.” — “He plays football”
  • “Nós jogamos futebol todos os dias.” — “We play football”
  • “Vós jogais futebol todos os dias.” — “You play football”
  • “Eles jogam futebol todos os dias.” — “They play football”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu joguei futebol ontem.” — “I played football”
  • “Tu jogaste futebol ontem.” — “You played football”
  • “Ele jogou futebol ontem.” — “He played football”
  • “Nós jogámos futebol ontem.” — “We played football”
  • “Vós jogastes futebol ontem.” — “You played football”
  • “Eles jogaram futebol ontem.” — “They played football”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu jogava futebol antigamente.” — “I used to play football”
  • “Tu jogarás futebol amanhã.” — “You will play football”
  • “Ele jogaria futebol um dia.” — “He would play football”
  • “É importante que nós joguemos futebol.” — “It is important that we play football”
  • “Joga futebol!” — “Play football!”

How jogar is used

The first thing to know about jogar is its core meaning: to play. It means to play a game or a sport, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -gar stem keeps its hard g by writing gu before e and i, so the pretérito perfeito eu form is joguei. The present is jogo, jogas, joga, and the participle is jogado. It is the verb for football, cards and every other game. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company jogar keeps. The present eu form is jogo, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho jogado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what jogar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need jogo, never jogar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho jogado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle jogado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Jogar in context

Eu jogo futebol todos os dias. Tu jogas futebol todos os dias. Ele joga futebol todos os dias. Nós jogamos futebol todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of jogar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — jogo, jogas, joga, jogamos — while the meaning stays the same: to play. Eu joguei futebol ontem. Tu jogaste futebol ontem. Ele jogou futebol ontem. Nós jogámos futebol ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of jogar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to play — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu jogar futebol.”

✓ Right: “Eu jogo futebol todos os dias.”

The infinitive jogar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form jogo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu jogas futebol.”

✓ Right: “Eu jogo futebol todos os dias.”

jogas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is jogo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu jogo futebol ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu joguei futebol ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito joguei here, not the present jogo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou jogado futebol.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho jogado futebol esta semana.”

jogar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho jogado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on jogar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of jogar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) jogo
    • B) jogas
    • C) joga
    • D) jogamos

  2. What is the eu form of jogar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens jogado
    • B) tem jogado
    • C) tenho jogado
    • D) temos jogado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of jogar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) jogavas
    • B) jogávamos
    • C) jogáveis
    • D) jogava

  4. What is the nós form of jogar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) jogaremos
    • B) jogarei
    • C) jogarás
    • D) jogará

  5. What is the tu form of jogar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) jogaria
    • B) jogarias
    • C) jogaríamos
    • D) jogaríeis

  6. What is the eu form of jogar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) jogaras
    • B) jogáramos
    • C) jogara
    • D) jogáreis

  7. What is the nós form of jogar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) jogue
    • B) jogues
    • C) jogueis
    • D) joguemos

  8. What is the gerund of jogar?

    • A) jogando
    • B) jogado
    • C) jogar
    • D) jogo

  9. What is the past participle of jogar?

    • A) jogando
    • B) jogado
    • C) jogar
    • D) jogo

  10. What does jogar mean in English?

  • A) to ask for
  • B) to receive
  • C) to play
  • D) to pay

Answer key

  1. B) jogas — the correct form is jogas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho jogado — the correct form is tenho jogado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) jogava — the correct form is jogava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) jogaremos — the correct form is jogaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) jogarias — the correct form is jogarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) jogara — the correct form is jogara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) joguemos — the correct form is joguemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) jogando — the correct form is jogando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) jogado — the correct form is jogado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to play — the correct form is to play. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does jogar mean in English?

jogar means “to play”. You use it whenever you talk about to play in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is jogar regular or irregular?

jogar is regular. jogar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of jogar?

The gerund is jogando and the past participle is jogado. The perfect tenses use ter + jogado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of jogar?

On the jogar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The jogar present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for jogar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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