Trabajar Conjugation: Learn it with CHUNKS, never forget it again!

The verb “trabajar” (to work) is regular. Do you think you can complete trabajar conjugation in the present tense with us?

In this lesson, Maura from Spring Spanish will put you to the test. Let’s begin!

1. Trabajar with “yo” (I)

In these dialogues, you’ll have the opportunity to complete and fully record the conjugation of this verb in your brain. At the same time, this will help you conjugate any regular verb ending in “ar”.

The conjugation of “trabajar” with “yo” is “trabajo”. Complete the dialogue.

Notice that the noun, the word “trabajo” (work), is the same as the conjugation for “yo“. So things like this can happen:

2. Trabajar conjugation with “tú” (you)

In these sentences, “me lo trabajé” means “I worked hard on it” or “I put a lot of effort into it”.

You can use it in any tense and with any person.

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Now, with “tú” the conjugation of “trabajar” is: trabajas. Pay attention in the dialogue.

MAURA
Es broma. Yo sé que trabajas un montón. (Just kidding. I know you work a lot.)

CARLA
Tú, ¿hasta qué hora trabajas hoy? (You, what time are you working until today?)

MAURA
Hasta las 6pm. ¿Tú trabajas en la noche? (Until 6 PM. Are you working tonight?)

CARLA
No, hoy no me toca. (No, I’m not scheduled to work tonight.)

MAURA
¡Qué bueno! Me encanta cuando no trabajas de noche porque así podemos salir. (That’s great! I love it when you don’t work at night because then we can go out.)

There are certain things that can help you create sentences with this verb. One of them is understanding that if you’re going to talk about the schedule, you have two options.

You can use “trabajar de“. Like this:

And you can use “trabajar a la/las“.

Like:

3. Trabajar with “él, ella y eso” (he, she, it)

The conjugation for “él, ella y eso” would be: trabaja.

Complete the dialogue.

CARLA
Y a mí. Deberíamos preguntarle a Amanda si trabaja hasta tarde hoy. (And me. We should ask Amanda if she’s working late today.)

MAURA
¡Total! Si no trabaja hasta tarde podemos ir a visitarla. (Exactly! If she’s not working late, we can go visit her.)

CARLA
El problema es que como trabaja como freelancer, realmente no tiene horario. (The problem is that since she works as a freelancer, she doesn’t really have a schedule.)

MAURA
No, pero entiendo que está intentando crearse uno para poner orden. (No, but I understand she’s trying to create one to bring some order.)

CARLA
Uff, menos mal. Lo más importante para la gente que trabaja desde casa es aprender a poner límites. (Phew, thank goodness. The most important thing for people who work from home is to learn to set boundaries.)

“Trabajar de” is also used as a synonym for “trabajar como“. These are the chunks that are usually used to say what your job or position is.

“Trabajar como” is more for professions:

4. Trabajar with “nosotros/as” (we)

For “nosotros/as” the conjugation of “trabajar” is: trabajamos.

Something a bit strange happens with this. We’ll discuss it after you complete the dialogue.

MAURA
Definitivamente. Ella y yo trabajamos en cosas parecidas, así que me pasa lo mismo. (Definitely. She and I work on similar things, so I go through the same.)

CARLA
Pero tú eres súper buena organizándote. (But you are super good at organizing yourself.)

MAURA
Porque me ha tocado practicar mucho. ¿Te acuerdas cuando trabajamos en la agencia de eventos? (Because I’ve had to practice a lot. Do you remember when we worked at the event agency?)

CARLA
Una locura. Es verdad. Cuando trabajamos ahí aprendimos un montón. (It was crazy. That’s true. When we worked there, we learned a lot.)

MAURA
Tal cual. Por experiencias como esas es que hoy me sé organizar mejor. (Exactly. It’s because of experiences like that that I know how to organize myself better today.)

The strange thing that happens with “trabajar” is that the conjugation for nosotros/as is the same for present and preterite.

So we can say:

Things that happen.

5. Trabajar with “ustedes, ellos/as” (you plural, they)

The conjugation for “ustedes, ellos/as” is: trabajan. Pay attention in the dialogue.

CARLA
Pero tú y Amanda no trabajan en cosas parecidas. (But you and Amanda don’t work on similar things.)

MAURA
Me refiero a formato, no al contenido. (I mean in terms of format, not content.)

CARLA
Ah, bueno, sí. Ambas trabajan en varias cosas distintas a la vez. (Ah, well, yes. Both work on several different things at the same time.)

MAURA
Y en sitios donde trabajan con deadlines súper apretados. (And in places where they work with very tight deadlines.)

CARLA
Cierto. En realidad sí trabajan parecido, tienes razón. (True. They actually work similarly, you’re right.)

The chunk “trabajar en” also exists. When you combine “trabajar” with the preposition “en“, you’re talking about either the location or the industry.

Things like:

I’m sure this is a verb that you don’t have to work so hard on to be able to handle perfectly.