Breakdown of Jugamos un partido contra ellos.
el partido
the game / the match
jugar
to play
contra
against
Questions & Answers about Jugamos un partido contra ellos.
Could jugamos also mean "we played" in the past tense?
Yes! For verbs ending in -ar (like jugar), the nosotros (we) form is exactly the same in both the present tense (jugamos = we play) and the preterite past tense (jugamos = we played). In real life, you'd rely on context or time markers like ayer (yesterday) to know which one is meant.
Why use partido for "match" instead of juego?
In Spanish, partido is specifically used for sports matches or organized athletic games (like soccer or basketball). Juego is usually used for board games, video games, or games of chance. Since they are playing against opponents here, partido is the natural choice.
Is contra a preposition of movement like hacia or hasta?
No, contra indicates opposition (against), not movement (like hacia) or a limit (like hasta). However, because it is a preposition, it follows the same grammatical rules as the others when you place a pronoun after it.
Why is it contra ellos and not contra los?
After prepositions (including contra, hacia, and hasta), you must use prepositional pronouns. For "them", the correct pronoun is ellos. Words like los and les are object pronouns that work directly with verbs (like "I see them"), but they are never placed after prepositions.
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