trabajar means: to work
Click to see all conjugation charts of trabajar in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb trabajar in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the trabajar verb conjugation. For an overview of Simple Tenses conjugation check the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

We also have a Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Pretérito. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you may find more detailed information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Pretérito to English

Note that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

Note the timeline

The ability to correctly locate the intended position on the timeline is a crucial skill for the right use of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, reading or writing. After some practice you will be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Pretérito belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of its conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb trabajar has regular conjugation in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means this verb just follows the basic rules for its group (-ar) without any exceptions or spelling corrections. The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s really easy to do. Simply remove two letters from the end of the infinitive form and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So for trabajar:

• the stem is: trabaj-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem trabaj- in each person as the basis for the conjugation, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Check out the image showing all the endings. Note both the shapes and colors of the letters. It should help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -é for the first person singular to create trabajé:

• yo trabajé – I worked

Like in the previous case add the regular ending -aste for the second person singular to create trabajaste:

• tú trabajaste – you worked

And exactly as previously add the regular ending -ó for the third person singular to create trabajó:

• él trabajó – he worked
• ella trabajó – she worked
• usted trabajó – (formal) you worked

Again add the regular ending -amos for the first person plural to create trabajamos:

• nosotros trabajamos – we worked
• nosotras trabajamos – (feminine) we worked

And similarly add the regular ending -asteis for the second person plural to create trabajasteis:

• vosotros trabajasteis – (plural) you worked
• vosotras trabajasteis – (feminine, plural) you worked

Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -aron for the third person plural to create trabajaron:

• ellos trabajaron – they worked
• ellas trabajaron – (feminine) they worked
• ustedes trabajaron – (formal, plural) you worked

This is it! The conjugation is now done. Put together, the conjugation chart looks like this:

yo	trabajé	I worked
tú	trabajaste	you worked
él/ella/usted	trabajó	he/she/it worked
nosotros/nosotras	trabajamos	we worked
vosotros/vosotras	trabajasteis	you worked
ellos/ellas/ustedes	trabajaron	they worked

Click to see all conjugation charts of trabajar in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it is very important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for example phrases and some links.

Example sentences

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresenteImperfectoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to trabajar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for trabajar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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