play – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of play

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to play at sth
Participle: played at sth
Gerund: playing at sth

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Iplay at sth
youplay at sth
he;she;itplays at sth
weplay at sth
youplay at sth
theyplay at sth

Perfect

Ihave played at sth
youhave played at sth
he;she;ithas played at sth
wehave played at sth
youhave played at sth
theyhave played at sth

Past

Iplayed at sth
youplayed at sth
he;she;itplayed at sth
weplayed at sth
youplayed at sth
theyplayed at sth

Pluperfect

Ihad played at sth
youhad played at sth
he;she;ithad played at sth
wehad played at sth
youhad played at sth
theyhad played at sth

Future

Iwill play at sth
youwill play at sth
he;she;itwill play at sth
wewill play at sth
youwill play at sth
theywill play at sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have played at sth
youwill have played at sth
he;she;itwill have played at sth
wewill have played at sth
youwill have played at sth
theywill have played at sth

Subjunctive

Present

Iplay at sth
youplay at sth
he;she;itplay at sth
weplay at sth
youplay at sth
theyplay at sth

Perfect

Ihave played at sth
youhave played at sth
he;she;ithave played at sth
wehave played at sth
youhave played at sth
theyhave played at sth

Imperfect

Iplayed at sth
youplayed at sth
he;she;itplayed at sth
weplayed at sth
youplayed at sth
theyplayed at sth

Pluperfect

Ihad played at sth
youhad played at sth
he;she;ithad played at sth
wehad played at sth
youhad played at sth
theyhad played at sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould play at sth
youwould play at sth
he;she;itwould play at sth
wewould play at sth
youwould play at sth
theywould play at sth

Perfect

Iwould have played at sth
youwould have played at sth
he;she;itwould have played at sth
wewould have played at sth
youwould have played at sth
theywould have played at sth

Imperative

youplay at sth
weLet's play at sth
youplay at sth

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam playing at sth
youare playing at sth
he;she;itis playing at sth
weare playing at sth
youare playing at sth
theyare playing at sth

Perfect

Ihave been playing at sth
youhave been playing at sth
he;she;ithas been playing at sth
wehave been playing at sth
youhave been playing at sth
theyhave been playing at sth

Past

Iwas playing at sth
youwere playing at sth
he;she;itwas playing at sth
wewere playing at sth
youwere playing at sth
theywere playing at sth

Pluperfect

Ihad been playing at sth
youhad been playing at sth
he;she;ithad been playing at sth
wehad been playing at sth
youhad been playing at sth
theyhad been playing at sth

Future

Iwill be playing at sth
youwill be playing at sth
he;she;itwill be playing at sth
wewill be playing at sth
youwill be playing at sth
theywill be playing at sth

Future Perfect

Iwill have been playing at sth
youwill have been playing at sth
he;she;itwill have been playing at sth
wewill have been playing at sth
youwill have been playing at sth
theywill have been playing at sth

Conditional

Present

Iwould be playing at sth
youwould be playing at sth
he;she;itwould be playing at sth
wewould be playing at sth
youwould be playing at sth
theywould be playing at sth

Perfect

Iwould have been playing at sth
youwould have been playing at sth
he;she;itwould have been playing at sth
wewould have been playing at sth
youwould have been playing at sth
theywould have been playing at sth

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)