jugar

I like to play soccer.

This sentence utilizes 'jugar', the Spanish verb for 'to play', to express interest in playing a particular sport, in this case, soccer. 'Me gusta', meaning 'I like', precedes the verb to complete the expression of liking.

Tomorrow, we are going to play ball.

In this phrase, 'vamos a jugar' means 'we are going to play'. This is an example of using the near future tense in Spanish, similar to English 'going to + verb'.

Juan knows how to play chess.

'Sabe jugar' means 'knows how to play' in this sentence. The verb 'saber', meaning 'to know', is often used before another verb to indicate the ability to perform an action.

Do you like to play tennis?

In this question, '¿Te gusta jugar?' translates directly as 'Do you like to play?'. 'Te gusta' is used instead of 'tú gustas' because likings are expressed in Spanish in terms of what pleases the person involved.

She prefers to play basketball in her free time.

'Prefiere jugar' means 'prefers to play'. 'Prefiere' comes from the verb 'preferir', meaning 'to prefer', an irregular verb that changes in the present tense.

We should play a match this weekend.

Here, 'deberíamos jugar' directly translates to 'we should play'. 'Deberíamos' is the conditional tense of 'deber' which means 'should' or 'ought to'.

I can't play today, I'm busy.

In this sentence, 'No puedo jugar' means 'I can't play'. 'Puedo' comes from the verb 'poder', which is a modal verb that expresses ability or possibility.

My brother is learning to play golf.

In this sentence, 'está aprendiendo a jugar' translates to 'is learning to play'. The Spanish verb 'aprender' means 'to learn' and it's here combined with 'a jugar' to express the action of learning to play.

Let's play cards!

'Vamos a jugar' is an example of a Spanish structure used to suggest actions or plans. The English equivalency for this example could be 'Let's play' or 'We're going to play'.