trabajé
trah-bah-HAY
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Ayer trabajé diez horas en la oficina.
A1Yesterday I worked ten hours in the office.
Trabajé mucho para terminar el proyecto a tiempo.
A2I worked hard to finish the project on time.
Cuando era estudiante, trabajé en un restaurante.
A2When I was a student, I worked in a restaurant.
💡 Grammar Points
The Preterite Tense
"Trabajé" is the simple past tense (called the Preterite) and is used for actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past, like 'yesterday' or 'last week'.
The Accent is Essential
The accent mark over the 'é' is critical! It tells you that the action happened in the past and that the speaker is 'yo' (I). Without it, 'trabaje' means 'I work' or 'that I work' (a special verb form).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Preterite vs. Imperfect
Mistake: "Usando 'trabajaba' para una acción específica completada."
Correction: Use 'trabajé' (Preterite) when you state exactly when the job was finished (e.g., 'I worked yesterday'). Use 'trabajaba' (Imperfect) for describing ongoing habits or background actions in the past (e.g., 'I used to work there').
⭐ Usage Tips
Regular AR Verb Pattern
Since 'trabajar' is a regular '-ar' verb, the 'yo' form in the simple past always ends in '-é' (e.g., hablé, caminé, estudié). Memorizing this pattern makes hundreds of verbs easy!
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: trabajé
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence correctly uses 'trabajé'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'trabajamos' mean both 'we work' (present) and 'we worked' (past)?
Yes, 'trabajamos' is the same for both the present tense and the simple past (Preterite) for 'nosotros' (we). You must rely on context or time markers (like 'ayer' or 'hoy') to know if the speaker means 'we work' or 'we worked'.
Is 'trabajé' used for short or long periods of work?
'Trabajé' can be used for any duration, as long as the work is completely finished and happened at a specific time in the past. You can say 'Trabajé una hora' (I worked for one hour) or 'Trabajé toda mi vida' (I worked all my life).