play – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of play

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to play with sb
Participle: played with sb
Gerund: playing with sb

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Iplay with sb
youplay with sb
he;she;itplays with sb
weplay with sb
youplay with sb
theyplay with sb

Perfect

Ihave played with sb
youhave played with sb
he;she;ithas played with sb
wehave played with sb
youhave played with sb
theyhave played with sb

Past

Iplayed with sb
youplayed with sb
he;she;itplayed with sb
weplayed with sb
youplayed with sb
theyplayed with sb

Pluperfect

Ihad played with sb
youhad played with sb
he;she;ithad played with sb
wehad played with sb
youhad played with sb
theyhad played with sb

Future

Iwill play with sb
youwill play with sb
he;she;itwill play with sb
wewill play with sb
youwill play with sb
theywill play with sb

Future Perfect

Iwill have played with sb
youwill have played with sb
he;she;itwill have played with sb
wewill have played with sb
youwill have played with sb
theywill have played with sb

Subjunctive

Present

Iplay with sb
youplay with sb
he;she;itplay with sb
weplay with sb
youplay with sb
theyplay with sb

Perfect

Ihave played with sb
youhave played with sb
he;she;ithave played with sb
wehave played with sb
youhave played with sb
theyhave played with sb

Imperfect

Iplayed with sb
youplayed with sb
he;she;itplayed with sb
weplayed with sb
youplayed with sb
theyplayed with sb

Pluperfect

Ihad played with sb
youhad played with sb
he;she;ithad played with sb
wehad played with sb
youhad played with sb
theyhad played with sb

Conditional

Present

Iwould play with sb
youwould play with sb
he;she;itwould play with sb
wewould play with sb
youwould play with sb
theywould play with sb

Perfect

Iwould have played with sb
youwould have played with sb
he;she;itwould have played with sb
wewould have played with sb
youwould have played with sb
theywould have played with sb

Imperative

youplay with sb
weLet's play with sb
youplay with sb

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam playing with sb
youare playing with sb
he;she;itis playing with sb
weare playing with sb
youare playing with sb
theyare playing with sb

Perfect

Ihave been playing with sb
youhave been playing with sb
he;she;ithas been playing with sb
wehave been playing with sb
youhave been playing with sb
theyhave been playing with sb

Past

Iwas playing with sb
youwere playing with sb
he;she;itwas playing with sb
wewere playing with sb
youwere playing with sb
theywere playing with sb

Pluperfect

Ihad been playing with sb
youhad been playing with sb
he;she;ithad been playing with sb
wehad been playing with sb
youhad been playing with sb
theyhad been playing with sb

Future

Iwill be playing with sb
youwill be playing with sb
he;she;itwill be playing with sb
wewill be playing with sb
youwill be playing with sb
theywill be playing with sb

Future Perfect

Iwill have been playing with sb
youwill have been playing with sb
he;she;itwill have been playing with sb
wewill have been playing with sb
youwill have been playing with sb
theywill have been playing with sb

Conditional

Present

Iwould be playing with sb
youwould be playing with sb
he;she;itwould be playing with sb
wewould be playing with sb
youwould be playing with sb
theywould be playing with sb

Perfect

Iwould have been playing with sb
youwould have been playing with sb
he;she;itwould have been playing with sb
wewould have been playing with sb
youwould have been playing with sb
theywould have been playing with sb

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'play'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'play'

clay, flay, lay, pay, plan, plap, plat, plaw, pley, ploy,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to engage in sexual intercourse
bang, bauf, beat, boff, boink, bone, bonk, bop, bounce, breed, bump nasties, bump uglies, catch a dick, cohabit, company, copulate, couple, dance, discuss Uganda, do it, do the deed, do the nasty, eff, engender, exchange flesh, expletive deleted, feck, frack, frak, frig, fuck, get busy, get freaky, get it, get it on, get jiggy, get laid, get one's end away, get one's freak on, get one's groove on, get one's leg over, get one's oats, get physical, get some, go all the way, graft the forked tree, haul one's ashes, have it off, have marital relations, have sex, have sexual relations, hump, intercourse, jig-jig, make it, make love, make the beast with two backs, make whoopee, mate, meddle, ming, ride, rock and roll, roger, roll around, root, see someone's etchings, sex, shag, share a bed, shelve, show someone one's etchings, slap bellies, sleep together, stick, tumble, wango tango
act
characterize, enact, impersonate, perform, personate, emulate, imitate, mimic
compete
engage

Antonyms

act
rest, repose, refrain, cease

Additional Information

Etymology

1. O.E. plegian "to exercise, frolic, perform music," from W.Gmc. *plegan (cf. M.Du. pleyen "to rejoice, be glad"), of uncertain origin. Opposed to work (v.) since 1377. Playground is attested from 1780. Playmate is from 1642 in the innocent sense, from 1954 in the sexual sense; playboy "wealthy bon vivant" is from 1829; fem. equivalent playgirl is first recorded 1934. Plaything is from 1675. To play up "emphasize" is from 1909; to play down "minimize" is from 1930. To play with oneself "masturbate" is from 1896; play for keeps is from 1861, originally of marbles or other children's games with tokens. To play the (something) card is attested from 1886; to play fair is from c.1440. Play-dough is first recorded 1959. To play (something) safe is from 1911; to play favorites is attested from 1902. For play the field see field.
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-West Germanic *plehan
4. Old English pleġan
5. Proto-West Germanic *plegō
6. Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
7. Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
8. Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
9. Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
10. Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti
11. Proto-Germanic *-ōną
12. Proto-West Germanic *-ōn
13. Proto-West Germanic *plegōn
14. Old English plegian
15. Middle English pleyen
16. Proto-West Germanic *plegō
17. Old English plega
18. Middle English pleye
19. English play
20. From Middle English pleyen (verb) and Middle English pleye (noun), from Old English plegian and plegan, plagian (“to play, exercise, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *plehan (“to care about, be concerned with”) and Proto-West Germanic *plegōn (“to engage, move”), of uncertain origin.
21. cognates and related terms
22. Cognate with Scots play (“to act or move briskly, cause to move, stir”), Saterland Frisian pleegje (“to look after, care for, maintain”), West Frisian pleegje, pliigje (“to commit, perform, bedrive”), Middle Dutch pleyen ("to dance, leap for joy, rejoice, be glad"; compare Modern Dutch pleien (“to play a particular children's game”)), Dutch plegen (“to commit, bedrive, practice”), German pflegen (“to care for, be concerned with, attend to, tend”). Related also to Old English plēon (“to risk, endanger”). More at plight, pledge.
23. The noun is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, plega, plæġa (“play, quick motion, movement, exercise; (athletic) sport, game; festivity, drama; battle; gear for games, an implement for a game; clapping with the hands, applause”), deverbative of plegian (“to play”); see above. See: Middle English 'pleyen', Old English 'plegian', Frisian, Saterlandic 'pleegje', Dutch 'pleien', Dutch 'plegen', German, old spelling 'pflegen'.

Verbs referencing "play"

Ido plear, English placard, Sranan prei, Tok Pisin pilai.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] hands are ill, and have given in, dead beat. Several berths are full of water, and all the cabins are leaky. The ship 's cook, secretly swigging damaged whiskey, has been found drunk; and has been played upon by the fire-engine until quite sober. All the stewards have fallen down-stairs at various dinner-times, and go about with plasters in various places. The baker is ill, and so is the [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] repaired, without any guide or leader, to a spacious music-hall, where they took their seats in an orchestra erected for that purpose, and listened with manifest delight to a voluntary on the organ, played by one of themselves. At its conclusion, the performer, a boy of nineteen or twenty, gave place to a girl; and to her accompaniment they all sang a hymn, and afterwards a sort of chorus. It was [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] gives her a vivid pleasure, which is plainly marked in her expressive features. She never seems to repine, but has all the buoyancy and gaiety of childhood. She is fond of fun and frolic, and when playing with the rest of the children, her shrill laugh sounds loudest of the group. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • ‘The mother stood some time, gazing with overflowing eyes upon her unfortunate child, who, all unconscious of her presence, was playing about the room. Presently Laura ran against her, and at once began feeling her hands, examining her dress, and trying to find out if she knew her; but not succeeding in this, she turned away as [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • ‘He learned more than a half-dozen letters in half an hour, and seemed delighted with his success, at least in gaining approbation. His attention then began to flag, and I commenced playing with him. It was evident that in all this he had merely been imitating the motions of my fingers, and placing his hand upon the key, cup, &c., as part of the process, without any perception of the [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • Each ward in this institution is shaped like a long gallery or hall, with the dormitories of the patients opening from it on either hand. Here they work, read, play at skittles, and other games; and when the weather does not admit of their taking exercise out of doors, pass the day together. In one of these rooms, seated, calmly, and quite as a matter of [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] on haphazard, pell-mell, neck-or-nothing, down the middle of the road. There—with mechanics working at their trades, and people leaning from their doors and windows, and boys flying kites and playing marbles, and men smoking, and women talking, and children crawling, and pigs burrowing, and unaccustomed horses plunging and rearing, close to the very rails—there—on, on, on—tears the mad dragon of [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] and cutting loose from the protection of a friend whom she loved and revered. Then there was the parting from every familiar object,—the place where she had grown up, the trees under which she had played, the groves where she had walked many an evening in happier days, by the side of her young husband,—everything, as it lay in the clear, frosty starlight, seemed to speak reproachfully to her, and [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • There was another: a young man, whose madness was love and music. After playing on the accordion a march he had composed, he was very anxious that I should walk into his chamber, which I immediately did. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] yard; female slaves, with cotton handkerchiefs twisted round their heads are running to and fro on the hotel business; black waiters cross and recross with dishes in their hands; two great dogs are playing upon a mound of loose bricks in the centre of the little square; a pig is turning up his stomach to the sun, and grunting ‘that 's comfortable ! ’; and neither the men, nor the women, nor the dogs, [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [tense music playing] Sit. Sit. Stay there. [ breathing heavily ] [ pop music playing faintly ] (iHostage)
  • Come on. Luis, there. [ sighs ] We'll never make it. Yes, you will. -[♪ Heroic music plays ] -Go ! (Descendants: Wicked Wonderland)
  • sitting at home, and I was playing around with, (The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist)
  • Playing with that fuel, with that in your heart, doesn't work. (Saquon)
  • Go straight to the feed and leave it open. Director, no cuts. This plays itself. (Disclosure Day)