How to Say Work in Spanish

Conjugating the Verb "Trabajar"

Use "trabajar" if you want to talk about employment or physical labor. The verb trabajar is used in Spanish to mean "to be employed." The noun form of the same word means what you do at work, or the place where you work.

Isolate the verb stem. Trabajar (trah-VAH-hahr) is a completely regular verb, so if you learn how to conjugate it you also know how to conjugate all other regular verbs ending in -ar. When you conjugate the verb, you add different endings to the verb stem to indicate the tense of the verb, as well as the gender and number of the subject. To find the verb stem, simply remove the -ar ending. The verb stem of trabajar is trabaj.

Use present tense to talk about work currently happening. You'll probably use the present tense more than any other, since you use it also for habitual actions and things happening in the immediate future. For example, you might say "Mi papá siempre trabaja mucho" to mean "My dad always works a lot." To conjugate trabajar in the present tense, replace -ar with the appropriate ending. Yo trabajo: I work/am working. Tú trabajas: You work/are working. Él/ella/usted trabaja: He/she/you work(s)/are working. Nosotros/-as trabajamos: We work/are working. Vosotros/-as trabajáis: You all work/are working. Ellos/ellas/ustedes trabajan: They/you all work/are working.

Switch to imperfect tense for work that happened in the past and continues into the present. When conjugated in the imperfect tense, trabajar means work that used to happen. It's commonly used for a past habitual action, or to describe what you were doing when you were interrupted. For example, if a friend called you and asked what you were doing, you might say "¡Yo trabajaba!" if you were working before you were interrupted by your friend's phone call. Yo trabajaba: I was working. Tú trabajabas: You were working. Él/ella/usted trabajaba: He/she/you was/were working. Nosotros/-as trabajámos: We were working. Vosotros/-as trabajabais: You all were working. Ellos/ellas/ustedes trabajaban: They/you all were working.

Talk about work that happened entirely in the past using the preterite tense. If the work you're talking about happened only once in the past, you would use the preterite tense. For example, you might say "Trabajé durante 2 años como camarero," or "I worked for 2 years as a waiter." Yo trabajé: I worked. Tú trabajaste: You worked. Él/ella/usted trabajó: He/she/you worked. Nosotros/-as trabajamos: We worked. Vosotros/-as trabajasteis: You all worked. Ellos/ellas/ustedes trabajaron: They/you all worked.

Use the future tense to talk about work that will happen in the future. The simple future in Spanish uses just a single word, rather than combining the infinitive with a helper verb as it is in English. For example, you might say "Trabajaremos en equipo" to mean "We will work as a team." Yo trabajaré: I will work. Tú trabajarás: You will work. Él/ella/usted trabajará: He/she/you will work. Nosotros/-as trabajaremos: We will work. Vosotros/-as trabajaréis: You all will work. Ellos/ellas/ustedes trabajarán: They/you all will work.

Conjugating the Verb "Funcionar"

Use "funcionar" if you want to talk about something working. The verb funcionar is used to mean "to operate." It can also be used to mean "to be successful," in the same way you would say in English that something works if it has a desired or promised effect. Since funcion looks a little like the English word function, this should be a relatively easy Spanish verb to remember.

Find the verb stem for funcionar (foon-see-OH-nahr). Funcionar is a completely regular -ar verb, so it is conjugated using the same endings that you used to conjugate trabajar. The verb stem of funcionar is funcion.

Use present tense to describe current functioning. The present tense can be used to describe something that is currently functioning, or that habitually functions. For example, you might say "Este vehículo funciona con gasolina" to mean "This vehicle runs on (functions with) gas." Yo funciono: I work. Tú funcionas: You work. Él/ella/usted funciona: He/she/you work. Nosotros/-as funcionamos: We work. Vosotros/-as funcionáis: You all work. Ellos/ellas/ustedes funcionan: They/you all work.

Switch to the imperfect tense to talk about something that used to work. Conjugate the verb funcionar in the imperfect tense for something that worked in the past and continues to work. For example, you might say "Lo frenos funcionaban bien" or "The breaks were working well." Yo funcionaba: I was working. Tú funcionabas: You were working. Él/ella/usted funcionaba: He/she/you was/were working. Nosotros/-as funcionábamos: We were working. Vosotros/-as funcionabais: You all were working. Ellos/ellas/ustedes funcionaban: They/you all were working.

Use the preterite tense if the functioning happened entirely in the past. When the work you're discussing started and ended in the past, use the preterite tense. For example, you might say "Los controles funcionaron bien ayer" to mean "Those controls functioned well." Yo funcioné: I worked. Tú funcionaste: You worked. Él/ella/usted funcionó: He/she/you worked. Nosotros/-as funcionamos: We worked. Vosotros/-as funcionasteis: You all worked. Ellos/ellas/ustedes funcionaron: They/you all worked.

Use the future tense if functioning will happen at a future time. The future tense of funcionar describes something that will work at some point in the future. For example, you might say "El nuevo ordenador funcionará" to mean "The new computer will work." Yo funcionaré: I will work. Tú funcionarás: You will work. Él/ella/usted funcionará: He/she/you will work. Nosotros/-as funcionaremos: We will work. Vosotros/-as funcionaréis: You all will work. Ellos/ellas/ustedes funcionarán: They/you all will work.

Using Nouns for "Work"

Say "el trabajo" (ell trah-VAH-yoh) if you're talking about employment. The word trabajo is the first-person present tense conjugation of the verb trabajar, but it also is used in Spanish as a noun to mean "work." For example, you might say "Mañana haré el trabajo si puedo" to mean "I will do the work tomorrow if I can." Trabajo is also used as a word for the place where you work. The phrase "en el trabajo" means "at work." For example, you might say "No nos permiten usar los celulares en el trabajo" or "We are not allowed to use our cell phones at work."

Alternate "trabajo" with "empleo" (ahm-PLAY-oh). The Spanish word empleo is also used to mean "work," but it's a bit more limited than trabajo. Use empleo to refer specifically to employment or job-related work. For example, you might say "busco empleo" to mean "I'm looking for work."

Speak of an artistic creation with "la obra" (lah OH-brah). In English, you may describe literary, musical, or artistic contributions as "works." You can do the same thing in Spanish by using the word obra. For example, you might say "Leí las obras completas de Shakespeare" to mean "I read the complete works of Shakespeare."

Use faena (fah-EHN-ah) to talk about a job or task. This noun is used to talk about jobs, chores, or tasks, especially in Spain. For example, you might say "Tengo suerte que a mis hijos les guste hacer las faenas de la casa" or "I'm lucky that my kids like to do the household chores."