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SPANISH VERB

trabajar

to work

  • #42 most used
  • Regular -ar verb
  • Gerund: trabajando
  • Past participle: trabajado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I work
  2. tú you work
  3. usted, él, ella he/she works
  4. nosotros we work
  5. vosotros Spain you all work
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they work

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I worked
  2. tú you worked
  3. usted, él, ella he/she worked
  4. nosotros we worked
  5. vosotros Spain you all worked
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they worked

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to work
  2. tú you used to work
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to work
  4. nosotros we used to work
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to work
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to work

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will work
  2. tú you will work
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will work
  4. nosotros we will work
  5. vosotros Spain you all will work
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will work

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would work
  2. tú you would work
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would work
  4. nosotros we would work
  5. vosotros Spain you all would work
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would work

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I work
  2. tú (that) you work
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she work
  4. nosotros (that) we work
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all work
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they work

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I worked
  2. tú (if) you worked
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she worked
  4. nosotros (if) we worked
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all worked
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they worked

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú work!
  2. usted work! (formal)
  3. nosotros work! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain work! (all of you)
  5. ustedes work! (all of you)

How to use trabajar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Trabajo en un hospital del centro.

    I work at a hospital downtown.

  2. Past

    Trabajé diez años en la misma empresa.

    I worked ten years at the same company.

  3. Imperfect

    Mi mamá trabajaba de maestra en Monterrey.

    My mom worked as a teacher in Monterrey.

  4. Future

    El próximo mes trabajaré desde casa.

    Next month I will work from home.

  5. Conditional

    ¿Trabajarías los fines de semana por más dinero?

    Would you work weekends for more money?

  6. Present subjunctive

    No es justo que trabajes tantas horas.

    It's not fair that you work so many hours.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si trabajara menos, vería más a mis hijos.

    If I worked less, I would see my kids more.

  8. Imperative

    Trabajen en equipo y terminarán más rápido.

    Work as a team and you will finish faster.

Good to know

  • Trabajar en is to work at a place; trabajar de is to work as something.

Where you hear trabajar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Trabajo en una escuela. I work in a school.
  • Ayer trabajé hasta las ocho. Yesterday I worked until eight.
  • Mañana no voy a trabajar. Tomorrow I'm not going to work.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Trabajo en el hospital. I work at the hospital.
  • Ayer trabajé todo el día. Yesterday I worked all day.
  • Mañana voy a trabajar por la mañana. Tomorrow I'm going to work in the morning.
14
What Do You Do?

Beginner Level 1 · trabajo · trabajas · Trabajo en · trabaja

Needs a subscription 18
Do You Have Brothers and Sisters?

Beginner Level 1 · trabajan

Needs a subscription 20
I Like the Rain

Beginner Level 1 · trabajar

Needs a subscription 5
Is My Laundry Ready?

Beginner Level 2 · trabajé

Needs a subscription 10
What Did You Do This Week?

Beginner Level 2 · trabajaron · trabajamos

Needs a subscription 12
What Hurts?

Beginner Level 2 · trabajó

Needs a subscription 14
When I Was a Child

Beginner Level 2 · trabajaba

Needs a subscription 26
Everybody Was Dancing

Beginner Level 2 · trabajando

Needs a subscription 3
What Will You Do?

Beginner Level 3 · trabajaré

Needs a subscription 10
A Call from Oaxaca

Beginner Level 3 · trabajaré

Needs a subscription 18
Camila's Story

Beginner Level 3 · trabajaba

Needs a subscription 26
When I Go Back

Beginner Level 3 · trabajaré

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And 11 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -ar verb.