In this grammar lesson, you will learn how to talk about sports and hobbies in French.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- the two idioms you must use: jouer à versus faire de
- how to use jouer Ã
- how to use faire de
- ongoing versus habitual activities
- how jouer à and faire de are used in sentences
- how you can quiz yourself on how to talk about sports and hobbies in French
- how to practice with flashcards on how to talk about sports and hobbies in French
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn French
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1.
By the end of the lesson, you will know all about how to talk about sports and hobbies in French!
Table of Contents
Sport and Hobbies in French: Jouer à versus Faire de
When talking about sports and hobbies in French, you will need to know two idioms:
- jouer à + [sport/hobby]
- faire de + [sport/hobby]
In French you can jouer (play) and faire (do) a sport/hobby.
For every sport/hobby there’s a set choice of the two idioms that you must choose.
So, one idiom can go only go with one sport/hobby.
In the following chapters you will find out which sport/hobby goes with which idiom.
Jouer Ã
Please take a look at how the idiom jouer à is used in French.
Je joue au tennis.
I play tennis.
Tu veux jouer aux échecs ?
Do you want to play chess?
Il joue au football.
He plays football.
[known as soccer in U.S English]
Nous jouons au basket-ball.
We play basketball.
Jouez-vous aux échecs ?
Do you play chess?
Ils jouent aux cartes.
They play cards.
Please don’t forget about contractions in French, à + le and à +les contract into au and aux.
Faire de
Please take a look at how the idiom faire de is used in French.
Je fais du sport.
I do sports.
Tu fais du ski ?
Do you ski?
Elle fait de la natation.
She swims. [on a regular basis]
Nous faisons du vélo tous les week-ends.
We cycle every weekend.
Faites-vous du sport ?
Do you do any sports?
Je fais de la voile.
I sail.
Please don’t forget about contractions in French, de + le and de +les contract into du and des.
Ongoing versus Habitual Activity
Can you tell the difference between the following examples?
Je danse.
I’m dancing.
Je fais de la danse.
I dance.
I do dancing.
In the first example, someone is in the middle of dancing. It is an ongoing activity.
In the second example, someone dances on a habitual basis.
When you use faire de [sport/hobby], you are referring to doing a sport or a hobby on a habitual basis.
Examples Sentences on How to Talk about Sports and Hobbies in French
The final section of this lesson on how to talk about sports and hobbies in French is about seeing the idioms in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding on how to talk about sports and hobbies in French through examples.
Je joue au tennis.
I play tennis.
Je fais du sport.
I do sports.
Je danse.
I’m dancing.
Je fais de la danse.
I dance.
I do dancing.
Je joue aux jeux vidéo.
I play video games.
Je ne sais pas jouer aux échecs.
I don’t know how to play chess.
I can’t play chess.
Tu veux jouer aux échecs ?
Do you want to play chess?
Tu fais du ski ?
Do you ski?
Il joue au football.
He plays football.
[known as soccer in U.S English]
Elle fait de la natation.
She swims. [on a regular basis]
Nous jouons au basket-ball.
We play basketball.
Nous faisons du vélo tous les week-ends.
We cycle every weekend.
Jouez-vous aux échecs ?
Do you play chess?
Faites-vous du sport ?
Do you do any sports?
Je fais de la voile.
I sail.
Quiz Yourself on How to Talk about Sports and Hobbies in French
At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want.
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information on flashcards and the best way to learn a new language.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
Anki is a free software with which you can create and practice flashcards.
After you have downloaded Anki for free, you can get our French A1 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 3,764 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for French A1.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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