Mi hermano y yo jugamos al mismo videojuego en la consola del salón.

My brother and I play the same video game on the console in the living room.

Breakdown of Mi hermano y yo jugamos al mismo videojuego en la consola del salón.

• yo: I
• mi: my
• al: to the
• y: and
• del: of the
• en: on
• el hermano: the brother
• jugar: to play
• mismo: same
• el salón: the living room
• el videojuego: the video game
• la consola: the console

Questions & Answers about Mi hermano y yo jugamos al mismo videojuego en la consola del salón.

Why is it jugamos al mismo videojuego and not jugamos el mismo videojuego?

With games and sports, Spanish normally uses jugar + a + [game/sport].

• jugar al fútbol – to play football
• jugar a las cartas – to play cards
• jugar al mismo videojuego – to play the same video game

a + el contracts to al, so:

• jugar a el mismo videojuego → jugar al mismo videojuego

You will sometimes hear jugar el videojuego in some varieties, but the standard, safest form to learn is jugar a [juego/deporte].

What exactly does al mean here?

al is just the contraction of a + el:

• a = to/at (here it goes with jugar)
• el = the (masculine singular article)

So:

• jugamos al mismo videojuego = jugamos a el mismo videojuego
  (= “we play the same video game”)

Any time a comes right before el, in standard Spanish it becomes al:

• Voy al parque. – Voy a el parque.
• Llamo al médico. – Llamo a el médico.

Similarly, why is it en la consola del salón and not en la consola de el salón?

Again, del is a contraction:

• de + el → del

So:

• la consola del salón = “the console of the living room”
  (= the console that is in / belongs to the living room)

You use del every time de comes directly before el:

• el color del coche – the colour of the car
• la puerta del jardín – the garden door

What tense is jugamos? Could it also be past?

jugamos can be either:

• present, 1st person plural – (nosotros) jugamos = we play / we are playing
• preterite (simple past), 1st person plural – (nosotros) jugamos = we played

In your sentence, with no time expression, the natural reading is present:
Mi hermano y yo jugamos al mismo videojuego… = My brother and I play the same video game…

To make it clearly past, Spanish usually adds a time word or context:

• Ayer mi hermano y yo jugamos al mismo videojuego. – Yesterday my brother and I played…

Why is there no nosotros? Could I say Nosotros mi hermano y yo jugamos…?

Spanish normally omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject:

• (Nosotros) jugamos – we play

You cannot say Nosotros mi hermano y yo jugamos…; that sounds wrong and redundant.

You can say:

• Mi hermano y yo jugamos… (most natural)
• Nosotros jugamos… (if you need to emphasize we)

But not both together.

Why is it Mi hermano y yo instead of Yo y mi hermano, like in English?

Spanish prefers to mention other people before “yo” in a list, as a matter of politeness and style:

• Mi hermano y yo – natural
• Yo y mi hermano – grammatically possible but sounds a bit self-centred or childish

So you would normally say:

• Mis amigos y yo – my friends and I
• Mis padres y yo – my parents and I

Why is the verb jugamos (1st person plural) and not 3rd person plural, since there are two people?

When yo is part of the subject, Spanish uses 1st person plural:

• Mi hermano y yo jugamos… – my brother and I play…
• Tú y yo jugamos… – you and I play…
• Mis amigos y yo jugamos… – my friends and I play…

If the subject doesn’t include yo, you use 3rd person plural:

• Mi hermano y mi primo juegan… – my brother and my cousin play…
• Ellos juegan… – they play…

Why is it en la consola and not a la consola?

There are two different prepositions in play:

1. jugar a [juego/deporte] – play a game/sport

   • jugar al mismo videojuego

2. en [lugar/objeto] – on / in / at (location or medium)

   • en la consola – on the console

So you combine them:

• jugar al videojuego en la consola – to play the video game on the console

Using a la consola would suggest play the console as if the console itself were the “game”, which is not how it’s expressed.

What does mismo add in al mismo videojuego?

mismo means “same” here:

• jugamos al videojuego – we play the video game
• jugamos al mismo videojuego – we play the same video game

Grammatically, mismo is an adjective and agrees in gender and number with the noun:

• el mismo videojuego – the same video game (masc. sing.)
• la misma consola – the same console (fem. sing.)
• los mismos videojuegos – the same video games (masc. pl.)
• las mismas consolas – the same consoles (fem. pl.)

This mismo is different from reflexive expressions like a sí mismo (himself).

Why is it videojuego and not two words like in English?

In Spanish, videojuego is written as one word:

• video
  • juego → videojuego

Spanish often forms compound nouns this way:

• paraguas – para + aguas (umbrella)
• sacapuntas – saca + puntas (pencil sharpener)

You may hear juego de video in some Latin American usage, but videojuego is the standard, especially in Spain.

What does salón mean here? Is it like “salon” in English (hair salon)?

In Peninsular Spanish, el salón in a home context usually means the living room / lounge.

So la consola del salón is the (game) console in the living room.

Other uses:

• el salón de actos – auditorium, assembly hall
• salón de belleza – beauty salon (but here salón needs another word)

For a hair salon specifically, you’d say peluquería, not just salón.

Why is it la consola del salón and not la consola en el salón?

Both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

• la consola del salón
  = literally “the console of the living room”
  → it sounds like the console that belongs to / is kept in that room.

• la consola en el salón
  = “the console in the living room”
  → just states the location, without that sense of belonging.

In everyday speech about things normally kept in a room (the TV, the sofa, the console), del salón is very natural in Spain.