Breakdown of ¿Estás jugando al videojuego en la televisión?
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
estar
to be (location/state)
al
to the (m)
jugar
to play
el videojuego
the video game
la televisión
the television
Questions & Answers about ¿Estás jugando al videojuego en la televisión?
Why is it "jugando" and not "juegando"? I thought "jugar" had a spelling change.
You are right that jugar (to play) usually changes its spelling in the normal present tense, like yo juego (I play). However, when making the "-ing" form (the gerund) for regular -ar verbs, you just take the original infinitive verb, drop the -ar, and add -ando. The stem spelling does not change for this verb, making it simply jugando.
How do we form "Are you playing" in this sentence?
Why does it say "al videojuego"? What does "al" mean here?
In Spanish, whenever you talk about playing a sport or a game, you must put the preposition a (to) after the verb jugar. Because videojuego is a masculine noun, it uses the word el (the). When a and el sit next to each other, they always squeeze together into the mandatory contraction al. So, you are literally saying "playing to the video game".
Doesn't "en" mean "in"? Why use it for "on the television"?
The Spanish preposition en is a very flexible word that can translate to "in", "on", or "at" depending on the situation. While English speakers say they are watching or playing something "on" a TV, Spanish speakers say en la televisión.
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