using the contraction 'al'

Question

The phrase "A Juan le gusta jugar al futbol" (Juan likes to play football) Why is it " jugar (to play) al (a el) futbol"? I could understand 'jugar futbol' but not 'jugar al futbol' It doesn't make sense to me

I've also seen it 'a Juan jugar futbol' which is correct or are they both correct? - thowell476, Apr 11, 2014

Answer 1

Hi, My name is Juan, y a mi me gusta jugar al futbol.

"Al" is like the union of two words: A and EL.

If we are talking about soccer or football, in english you don't use the adjective THE. Well, in Spanish we do: El futbol, El tenis and so on.

A in this case, I believe it is close in meaning to "to" and whenever you use the verb "jugar" you always add "a" after the verb.

Ex: I play "marbles" ( Yo juego a "las canicas")

  I play "Basketball" ( yo juego al(a el) baloncesto).

yo juego a "el baloncesto"

¿A que estas jugando? ( What is your game?/What are you playing?)

¿Estas jugando A "ser Dios"? ( Are you playing "God"?) Any more doubts, let me know.

Remember, the key is to remember that after the verb Jugar you add "a" then the rest of the sentence. - juanmelgar, Apr 11, 2014

Hoy voy jugar a "las encondidas" con mi hijo ( Today I am gointo play "hide and seek" with my son. - juanmelgar, Apr 11, 2014

Oh!! Got it!! Thank you so very much! - thowell476, Apr 11, 2014

Answer 2

I understand your frustration, I suffer from the same question. I found this article that might help us both. I hope you get some good answers from native speakers.

Spanish verbs with preposition a + object

Answer 3

Hello Thowell.

This is just how the Spanish say it They never use a + el

The Spanish would not say A veces (a) Juan le gusta ir a el cine..

Sometimes Juan likes to go to the cinema

Instead, the Spanish would say: A veces (a) Juan le gusta ir al cine..

In Spanish grammar they always contract the a + el to make it al,

In the same way: de + el is contracted to del This is just the way the Spanish use their language.

You said:

It doesn't make sense to me

Well, I can truly understand and appreciate your concern but all languages are dfferent and they are not meant to be translated 'word for word' ..infact,.they will never make much sense if you try do that!

Instead of perhaps starting from the viewpoint that says why doesn't Spanish (or French or any language) work exactly like my native language ...why not just simply accept the fact that each language is unique and will have its own grammatical rules and does not have to conform to English grammatical structures? Having said that, you may yet discover some similarities in your journey towards learing this beautiful yet complex language.

Please do not read the above explanation as a negative crticism, (it wasn't intended that way!) but instead, see it as a constructive challenge to allow the Spanish language to unfold before your eyes like a beautiful flower and accept it for what it is without comparing it to English. This way it will make more sense and as you learn how to translate from Spanish back into English you will begin to understand how the Spanish express the same/simiilar thoughts and ideas we have in a different way.

I hope this helps