Jugar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Jugar in Spanish

¡Hola! ¿Listo para jugar a conjugar verbos? In this article, we’ll go over all the conjugations for the verb jugar. You’ll learn how to conjugate jugar in the different Spanish tenses, and I’ll give you some example sentences to help you practice.

Jugar means “to play.” It’s one of the most common verbs in the Spanish language, so you’ll see it quite often. Although jugar is mostly used for its literal meaning, some colloquial phrases use it figuratively. For example, you can use jugar to say “Ellos juegan a las cartas” (They play cards) or “Le gusta jugar con tus sentimientos” (He likes to play with your feelings). You can have a lot of fun learning the conjugations for this verb.

The table below shows three common conjugations of jugar: the infinitive, the gerund, and the past participle.

Here are three example sentences that use the conjugations of jugar from the table above:

• Infinitive: A la Reina no le gustaba jugar Monopolio. (The queen didn’t like to play Monopoly.)
• Gerund: Estabamos jugando afuera hasta que empezó a llover. (We were playing outside until it started raining.)
• Past Participle: ¿Nunca has jugado videojuegos? (Have you never played videogames?)

Now, we’ll look at all the conjugations for jugar. The table below shows the different Spanish verb tenses. You can click on each one of them to see jugar conjugated in that specific tense.

How to Conjugate Jugar in Indicative Tense

We use the indicative tense to talk about facts, habits, or descriptions. You can use it to describe events in the past, present, or future. It’s one of the most common moods in the Spanish language, so learning to conjugate jugar in this tense is very important. We’ll go over the following indicative tenses: present, future, preterite, imperfect, and conditional.

Indicative Present

In Spanish, we use the indicative present to talk about present or future events. This form of jugar lets us explain what we play in the present time. You can use it with specific or non-specific time frames. For example, you can say “Ella juega beisbol después de la escuela” which means, “She plays baseball after school.”

Here’s the conjugation chart for jugar in the indicative present:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	juego	I play
Tú	juegas	You play
Vos	jugás	You play
Él/Ella/Usted	juega	He/She plays, You play
Nosotros	jugamos	We play
Vosotros	jugáis	You play
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	juegan	They/You play

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the indicative present tense:

• Ellos juegan con una nueva consola de videojuegos. / They play with a new video game console.
• Nosotros jugamos ping-pong por las tardes. / We play ping-pong in the afternoons.
• Yo no juego juegos aburridos. / I don’t play boring games.

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Indicative Future

The indicative future is used to describe events that will happen. You can use jugar in this tense to talk about games you will play later or to indicate who will play with you in the future. For example, you can say “Jugaré Tetris para matar tiempo” which means, “I will play Tetris to kill time.”

Below, you can find the conjugation chart for jugar in the indicative future tense: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	jugaré	I will play
Tú	jugarás	You will play
Vos	jugarás	You will play
Él/Ella/Usted	jugará	He/She/You will play
Nosotros	jugaremos	We will play
Vosotros	jugaréis	You will play
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jugarán	They/You will play

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the indicative future tense:

• Vosotros jugaréis una partida y luego se irán a dormir. / You will play a match and then go to bed.
• Ustedes jugarán basket el próximo verano.  / You will play basketball next summer.
• Tú jugarás con tu primo el fin de semana. / You will play with your cousin on the weekend.

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Indicative Preterite

The indicative preterite tense helps us talk about actions or events in the past. In the case of the verb jugar, you can use the indicative preterite to explain what games or sports you played. You can use it to indicate with whom, at what time, or what kind of game you played. For example, you can say “Nosotros jugamos con un nuevo casco de realidad virtual” which means, “We played with a new virtual reality headset.”

You can find the indicative preterite conjugation chart for jugar below:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	jugué	I played
Tú	jugaste	You played
Vos	jugaste	You played
Él/Ella/Usted	jugó	He/She/You played
Nosotros	jugamos	We played
Vosotros	jugasteis	You played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jugaron	They/You played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the indicative preterite tense:

• Él jugó en los Juegos Olímpicos de 1995. / He played in the 1995 Olympic Games.
• Vos jugaste video juegos hasta quedarte dormido. / You played video games until you fell asleep.
• Yo jugué Clue con mi hermana hace muchos años. / I played Clue with my sister many years ago.

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Indicative Imperfect

We use the indicative imperfect tense to talk about ongoing past actions. You can use the indicative imperfect conjugations of jugar to remember games and people you used to play with. For example, you can say “Ella jugaba con sus amigos cuando era pequeña” which means, “She used to play with her friends when she was little.” 

Here’s the conjugation chart for jugar in the indicative imperfect tense:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	jugaba	I used to play
Tú	jugabas	You used to play
Vos	jugabas	You used to play
Él/Ella/Usted	jugaba	He/She/You used to play
Nosotros	jugabamos	We used to play
Vosotros	jugabais	You used to play
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jugaban	They/You used to play

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the indicative imperfect tense:

• Tú jugabas en el equipo de soccer de la escuela. / You used to play on the school’s soccer team.
• Ellas jugaban vóleibol en la playa. / They used to play volleyball on the beach.
• Nosotros jugabamos D&D hasta que discutimos. / We used to play D&D until we argued.

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Indicative Conditional

The indicative conditional tense is used to talk about hypothetical situations. You can use it to talk about things that would happen in the future if a separate event took place before. The indicative conditional form of jugar can help you point out which games or with who you would play if other events allowed it. For example, you can say “Jugaría con el simulador de vida si no tuviera que trabajar” which means, “I would play with the life simulator if I didn’t have to work.”

You can find the indicative conditional jugar conjugation chart below:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	jugaría	I would play
Tú	jugarías	You would play
Vos	jugarías	You would play
Él/Ella/Usted	jugaría	He/She/You would play
Nosotros	jugaríamos	We would play
Vosotros	jugaríais	You would play
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jugarían	They/You would play

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the indicative conditional tense:

• Jugaríamos afuera si dejara de nevar. / We would play outside if it stopped snowing.
• Yo no jugaría contigo a menos de que pidieras perdón. / I would not play with you unless you said sorry.
• ¿Jugarías ajedrez conmigo si acabo la tarea? / Would you play chess with me if I finish my homework?

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How to Conjugate Jugar in Perfect Tense

The perfect tense is used to describe past events that influence the present. In order to conjugate jugar in this tense, you will need to use the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle of jugar (jugado). Keep in mind that while the past participle form of jugar doesn’t change, the verb haber changes to match the pronouns for each tense. We’ll cover these perfect tenses: present, future, past perfect, conditional, and preterite perfect tense.

Present Perfect

In Spanish, we use the present perfect to refer to actions that started in the past and are still relevant in the present. The present perfect form of jugar can help you talk about games that you started playing in the past but are still playing today. You can also use this tense to talk about people you played with in the past that you still play with today. For example, you can say “Ellos han jugado Crash juntos desde los diez años” which means, “They have played Crash together since they were ten.”

Below, you will find the present perfect conjugation chart for jugar:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	he jugado	I have played
Tú	has jugado	You have played
Vos	has jugado	You have played
Él/Ella/Usted	ha jugado	He/She has played, You have played
Nosotros	hemos jugado	We have played
Vosotros	habéis jugado	You have played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	han jugado	They/You have played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the present perfect tense:

• Habéis jugado sucio por mucho tiempo, ahora tendrás que pagar las consecuencias. / You have played dirty for too long, now you’ll have to pay the consequences.
• He jugado juegos de terror desde chica, y nunca sentí miedo. / I have played horror games since I was little, and I never felt afraid.
• Nosotros hemos jugado este juego demasiado tiempo. / We have played this game for too long.

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Future Perfect

The future perfect tense lets us describe an event that will take place before a specific point in the future. You can use specific or non-specific time frames. The future perfect conjugations of jugar let us talk about what we will have played or who will have played before a future event. For example, you can say “Ellos ya habrán jugado el partido para cuando enciendas la TV” which means, “They will have already played the match by the time you turn on the TV.”

Here’s the conjugation chart for jugar in the future perfect tense: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	habré jugado	I will have played
Tú	habrás jugado	You will have played
Vos	habrás jugado	You will have played
Él/Ella/Usted	habrá jugado	He/She/You will have played
Nosotros	habremos jugado	We will have played
Vosotros	habréis jugado	You will have played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	habrán jugado	They/You will have played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the future perfect tense:

• Ella habrá jugado en el torneo la próxima vez que  la vea. / She will have played in the tournament by the next time I see her.
• Ya habremos jugado la mayor parte del juego cuando empiecen las clases. / We will have played most of the game when the classes start.
• Ellos habrán jugado con el equipo rival para entonces. / They will have played with the rival team by then.

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Past Perfect (Pluperfect)

The past perfect, or pluperfect, tense is used to describe something that happened before another event in the past. You can use the past perfect form of jugar to remember games or people you had played with before something else happened. For example, you can say “Ellos habían jugado juntos hasta que él hizo otros amigos” which means, “They had played together until he made other friends.”

You can find the conjugation chart for the past perfect tense of jugar below:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	había jugado	I had played
Tú	habías jugado	You had played
Vos	habías jugado	You had played
Él/Ella/Usted	había jugado	He/She/You had played
Nosotros	habíamos jugado	We had played
Vosotros	habíais jugado	You had played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	habían jugado	They/You had played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the pluperfect tense:

• Habíamos jugado en paz hasta que ella llegó. / We had played in peace until she arrived.
• Yo había jugado en la computadora hasta que me empezaron a llorar los ojos. / I had played on the computer until my eyes started to water.
• Vos habías jugado bien hasta que te caíste. / You had played well until you fell.

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Conditional Perfect

You can use the conditional perfect tense to talk about possibilities, opinions, or theories. It helps us talk about what could have or should have been. With the conditional perfect conjugation of jugar, you can point out what or with who you would have played if a separate event had taken place. For example, you can say “Yo habría jugado si me hubiesen invitado” which means, “I would have played if I had been invited.”

Below, you can see all the conditional perfect conjugations for the verb jugar: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	habría jugado	I would have played
Tú	habrías jugado	You would have played
Vos	habrías jugado	You would have played
Él/Ella/Usted	habría jugado	He/She/You would have played
Nosotros	habríamos jugado	We would have played
Vosotros	habríais jugado	You would have played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	habrían jugado	They/You would have played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the conditional perfect tense:

• Él habría jugado en el partido si hubieran pedido un jugador más. / He would have played in the match if they had asked for one more player.
• Usted habría jugado mejor si hubiese practicado más. / You would have played better if you had practiced more.
• Ellas habrían jugado en grupo si hubiesen estado en el mismo salón. / They would have played together if they had been in the same classroom.

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Preterite Perfect (Past Anterior)

The preterite perfect, or past anterior, helps us describe actions completed at a specific point in time. You can use the verb jugar in this form to talk about games you had played in the past.  For example, you can say “Yo hube jugado hasta perder noción del tiempo” which means, “I had played until I lost track of time.” Keep in mind that jugar is not commonly used in this tense. It’s more likely to see jugar used in the present perfect tense in its place.

Here’s the preterite perfect conjugation chart for jugar:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	hube jugado	I had played
Tú	hubiste jugado	You had played
Vos	hubiste jugado	You had played
Él/Ella/Usted	hubo jugado	He/She/You had played
Nosotros	hubimos jugado	We had played
Vosotros	hubisteis jugado	You had played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	hubieron jugado	They/You had played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the past perfect tense:

• Él hubo jugado en la calle hasta que oscureció. / He had played in the street until it got dark.
• Nosotros hubimos jugado en el equipo correcto. / We had played on the right team.
• Hubisteis jugado brusco con su compañero. / You had played rough with your classmate.

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How to Conjugate Jugar in Subjunctive Tense

In English, the subjunctive tense doesn’t exist because we have specific words or phrases to convey subjective ideas. However, this tense is very common in Spanish and helps us express wishes, doubts, and hopes. The subjunctive conjugations of jugar help us create hypotheses about games we would play or make plans for the future. We’ll look at the following subjunctive tenses: present, future, and imperfect subjunctive tense.

Present Subjunctive

We use the present subjunctive tense to express emotions like wishes, hopes, doubts, or intentions. In the case of jugar, you can use its present subjunctive form to tell someone how you feel about the games they play or the way they play. For example, you can say “Me gusta que juegues Monopolio conmigo” which means, “I like that you play Monopoly with me.”

You can find the conjugation chart for jugar in the present subjunctive tense right below:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	juegue	I play
Tú	juegues	You play
Vos	juegues	You play
Él/Ella/Usted	juegue	He/She plays, You play
Nosotros	juguemos	We play
Vosotros	juguéis	You play
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jueguen	They/You play

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the present subjunctive tense:

• Puede que juegue con él después. / Maybe I can play with him later. 
• No quiero ver que juegues tan rudo. / I don’t want to see you play so rough.
• Me pone triste que ya no jueguen juntos. / It makes me sad that you don’t play together anymore.

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Future Subjunctive

The future subjunctive is used to talk about hypothetical situations that might happen in the future. You can use jugar in this tense to tell others what you will play in a subjective scenario. For example, you can say “Si no llueve, jugaremos en el bosque” which means, “If it doesn’t rain, we will play in the woods.”

Here’s the future subjunctive conjugation chart for the verb jugar:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	jugare	I will play
Tú	jugares	You will play
Vos	jugares	You will play
Él/Ella/Usted	jugare	He/She/You will play
Nosotros	jugáremos	We will play
Vosotros	jugareis	You will play
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jugaren	They/You will play

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the future subjunctive tense:

• Si termino todo el trabajo jugare videojuegos toda la noche. / If I finish all the work, I will play video games all night.
• Me temo que vosotros jugareis en diferentes equipos. / I’m afraid you will play on different teams.
• No creo que jugaremos en Los Juegos Olímpicos. / I don’t think we will play in the Olympics.

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Imperfect Subjunctive

We use the imperfect subjunctive to describe uncertain past events. You can also use it to express feelings about hypothetical events in the future. The imperfect subjunctive form of jugar lets us talk about games we might or might not remember playing. For example, you can say “No recuerdo que ella jugara con mis amigas” which means, “I don’t remember that she played with my friends.”

Below, you can find all the imperfect subjunctive conjugations for jugar: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	jugara/ jugase	I played
Tú	jugaras/ jugases	You played
Vos	jugaras/ jugases	You played
Él/Ella/Usted	jugara/ jugase	He/She/You played
Nosotros	jugáramos/ jugásemos	We played
Vosotros	jugarais/ jugaseis	You played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	jugaran/ jugasen	They/You played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the imperfect subjunctive tense:

• Puede que él jugara en otro parque. / Maybe he played in another park.
• Si nosotros jugaramos videojuegos juntos, no nos sentiriamos solos. / If we played video games together, we wouldn’t feel alone.
• Puede que jugases ese juego con ella, pero a mi no me gusta. / Maybe you played that game with her, but I don’t like it.

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How to Conjugate Jugar in Perfect Subjunctive Tense

The perfect subjunctive mood is used to talk about uncertain events in the past that could have influenced the present. We use jugar in this tense to talk about how the games we played in the past could have changed the present. To conjugate jugar in this tense, you will need to use the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle of jugar (jugado). We’ll cover the next perfect subjunctive tenses: present subjunctive, future subjunctive, and pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Perfect Subjunctive

The present perfect subjunctive helps us describe past events still connected to the present. You can also use it to talk about actions that will take place at a specific point in the future. The present perfect subjunctive form of jugar lets us express how we currently feel about games we have played in the past. For example, you can say “Me alegra que hayas jugado con todos tus compañeros de clase” which means, “I’m glad you have played with all your classmates.”

Here’s the present perfect subjunctive conjugation chart for jugar: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	haya jugado	I have played
Tú	hayas jugado	You have played
Vos	hayas jugado	You have played
Él/Ella/Usted	haya jugado	He/She has played, You have played
Nosotros	hayamos jugado	We have played
Vosotros	hayáis jugado	You have played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	hayan jugado	They/You have played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the present perfect subjunctive tense:

• No me importa que hayas jugado en las grandes ligas, aún tienes que hacer tu tarea. / I don’t care that you have played in the big leagues, you still have to do your homework.
• Quizás ella haya jugado con más aplicaciones de lenguaje. / Maybe she has played with more language apps.
• No puedo creer que vosotros hayáis jugado asi con los sentimientos de otra persona. /  I can’t believe you have played like that with somebody else’s feelings.

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Future Perfect Subjunctive

We use the future perfect subjunctive to talk about the possibilities of future events. You can use jugar in this tense to describe games you will have played in hypothetical future scenarios. For example, you can say “Yo hubiere jugado hasta el último nivel si no hubiera escuela mañana” which means, “I will have played until the last level if there was no school tomorrow.” The future perfect subjunctive tense is rarely used in Spanish, but learning to conjugate jugar in this form can still be useful to understand phrases used in old literature or legal texts. 

You can find the future perfect subjunctive conjugation chart for jugar below:

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	hubiere jugado	I will have played
Tú	hubieres jugado	You will have played
Vos	hubieres jugado	You will have played
Él/Ella/Usted	hubiere jugado	He/She/You will have played
Nosotros	hubiéramos jugado	We will have played
Vosotros	hubiereis jugado	You will have played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	hubieren jugado	They/You will have played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the future perfect subjunctive tense:

• Hubieres jugado más seguido si las vacaciones fueran más largas. / You would have played more often if the holidays were longer.
• En caso usted hubiere jugado en el concurso, recibiría un premio por participación. / In case you have played in the contest, you will receive a participation prize.
• Si hubieren jugado en equipo, hubieran ganado. / If they had played in a team, they would have won. 

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Pluperfect Subjunctive

In Spanish, we use the pluperfect subjunctive to talk about actions that happened before other actions in the past. In the case of jugar, you can use the pluperfect subjunctive to create theories about games you had played. For example, you can say “Nosotros hubiéramos jugado tenis si él no se hubiese roto el brazo” which means, “We had played tennis if he hadn’t broken an arm.”

Below, you can find the pluperfect subjunctive conjugation chart for the verb jugar: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation	English Meaning
Yo	Hubiera/ Hubiese jugado	I had played
Tú	Hubieras/ Hubieses jugado	You had played
Vos	Hubieras/ Hubieses jugado	You had played
Él/Ella/Usted	Hubiera/ Hubiese jugado	He/She/You had played
Nosotros	Hubiéramos/ Hubiésemos jugado	We had played
Vosotros	Hubierais/ Hubieseis jugado	You had played
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	Hubieran/ Hubiesen jugado	They/You had played

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the pluperfect subjunctive tense:

• Yo hubiese jugado afuera si me hubiesen dado permiso. / I had played outside if they had given me permission.
• Vos hubieras jugado con él incluso si te decían que no lo hicieras. / You had played with him even if they had told you not to do it.
• Ustedes hubieran jugado en nuestro equipo su hubiera habido espacio. / You had played in our team if there had been space.

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How to Conjugate Jugar in the Imperative Tense

We use the imperative tense to give commands, orders, or advice. You can use jugar in the imperative tense to tell someone to play or not play with something. To conjugate jugar in the negative imperative, just add “no” instead of “don’t.”

Here’s the imperative tense conjugation chart for jugar: 

Pronoun	Jugar Conjugation (Affirmative)	Jugar Conjugation (Negative)	English Meaning
Tú	¡Juega!	¡No juegues!	Play!/ Don’t play!
Vos	¡Jugá!	¡No juegues!	Play!/ Don’t play!
Él/Ella/Usted	¡Juegue!	¡No juegue!	Play!/ Don’t play!
Nosotros	¡Juguemos!	¡No juguemos!	Play!/ Don’t play!
Vosotros	¡Jugad!	¡No juguéis!	Play!/ Don’t play!
Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes	¡Jueguen!	¡No jueguen!	Play!/ Don’t play!

Here are some example sentences showing how to conjugate jugar in the imperative tense:

• ¡No juegues con tu salud! / Don’t play with your health!
• ¡No juguemos con la vida de los demás! / Don’t play with other people’s lives!
• ¡Jueguen en equipo! / Play in teams!

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Tips for Conjugating Jugar Correctly

Learning to conjugate verbs can be tricky, even for native Spanish speakers. But don’t feel discouraged. You can master Spanish verb conjugation if you study consistently and practice using the language. Exposing yourself to authentic Spanish material can also help you develop a natural understanding that is way better than just memorizing verb forms.

Here are some common expressions you can use to practice conjugating jugar. “Se jugó la vida” which translates to, “He played with his life” is an expression used to say that somebody risked everything in his life for a specific purpose. “Jugo todas sus cartas” which means, “He played all his cards” is another common expression used to talk about someone having used all his options. 

Ways to Practice Conjugating Jugar

The best way to learn to conjugate Spanish verbs is to practice. However, irregular verbs like jugar can be somewhat tricky and might take you more time to master than regular verbs. 

Luckily, there are many ways to learn Spanish. For example, if you like quick lessons and interactive material, you can use Spanish apps. If you prefer more traditional methods and longer grammatical explanations, you can use Spanish books to study with a teacher or on your own. If you are looking for a structured lesson plan, you can try online Spanish courses.

Jugar Conjugation FAQ