Trabalhar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

trabalhar — to work — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of working, used for jobs, for working in a place and for working on a task. It is completely regular, and it is one of the most frequent verbs in everyday Portuguese. On this page you will find trabalhar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the trabalhar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the trabalhar present tense page.

Example sentences with trabalhar

In the present tense

  • “Eu trabalho no escritório todos os dias.” — “I work in the office”
  • “Tu trabalhas no escritório todos os dias.” — “You work in the office”
  • “Ele trabalha no escritório todos os dias.” — “He works in the office”
  • “Nós trabalhamos no escritório todos os dias.” — “We work in the office”
  • “Vós trabalhais no escritório todos os dias.” — “You work in the office”
  • “Eles trabalham no escritório todos os dias.” — “They work in the office”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu trabalhei no escritório ontem.” — “I worked in the office”
  • “Tu trabalhaste no escritório ontem.” — “You worked in the office”
  • “Ele trabalhou no escritório ontem.” — “He worked in the office”
  • “Nós trabalhámos no escritório ontem.” — “We worked in the office”
  • “Vós trabalhastes no escritório ontem.” — “You worked in the office”
  • “Eles trabalharam no escritório ontem.” — “They worked in the office”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu trabalhava no escritório antigamente.” — “I used to work in the office”
  • “Tu trabalharás no escritório amanhã.” — “You will work in the office”
  • “Ele trabalharia no escritório um dia.” — “He would work in the office”
  • “É importante que nós trabalhemos no escritório.” — “It is important that we work in the office”
  • “Trabalha no escritório!” — “Work in the office!”

How trabalhar is used

The first thing to know about trabalhar is its core meaning: to work. It is the verb of working, used for jobs, for working in a place and for working on a task. It is completely regular, and it is one of the most frequent verbs in everyday Portuguese. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company trabalhar keeps. The present eu form is trabalho, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho trabalhado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what trabalhar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need trabalho, never trabalhar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho trabalhado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle trabalhado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Trabalhar in context

Eu trabalho no escritório todos os dias. Tu trabalhas no escritório todos os dias. Ele trabalha no escritório todos os dias. Nós trabalhamos no escritório todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of trabalhar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — trabalho, trabalhas, trabalha, trabalhamos — while the meaning stays the same: to work. Eu trabalhei no escritório ontem. Tu trabalhaste no escritório ontem. Ele trabalhou no escritório ontem. Nós trabalhámos no escritório ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of trabalhar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to work — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu trabalhar no escritório.”

✓ Right: “Eu trabalho no escritório todos os dias.”

The infinitive trabalhar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form trabalho.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu trabalhas no escritório.”

✓ Right: “Eu trabalho no escritório todos os dias.”

trabalhas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is trabalho — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu trabalho no escritório ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu trabalhei no escritório ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito trabalhei here, not the present trabalho.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou trabalhado no escritório.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho trabalhado no escritório esta semana.”

trabalhar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho trabalhado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on trabalhar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of trabalhar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) trabalho
    • B) trabalhas
    • C) trabalha
    • D) trabalhamos

  2. What is the eu form of trabalhar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens trabalhado
    • B) tem trabalhado
    • C) tenho trabalhado
    • D) temos trabalhado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of trabalhar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) trabalhavas
    • B) trabalhávamos
    • C) trabalháveis
    • D) trabalhava

  4. What is the nós form of trabalhar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) trabalharemos
    • B) trabalharei
    • C) trabalharás
    • D) trabalhará

  5. What is the tu form of trabalhar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) trabalharia
    • B) trabalharias
    • C) trabalharíamos
    • D) trabalharíeis

  6. What is the eu form of trabalhar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) trabalharas
    • B) trabalháramos
    • C) trabalhara
    • D) trabalháreis

  7. What is the nós form of trabalhar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) trabalhe
    • B) trabalhes
    • C) trabalheis
    • D) trabalhemos

  8. What is the gerund of trabalhar?

    • A) trabalhando
    • B) trabalhado
    • C) trabalhar
    • D) trabalho

  9. What is the past participle of trabalhar?

    • A) trabalhando
    • B) trabalhado
    • C) trabalhar
    • D) trabalho

  10. What does trabalhar mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to work
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) trabalhas — the correct form is trabalhas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho trabalhado — the correct form is tenho trabalhado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) trabalhava — the correct form is trabalhava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) trabalharemos — the correct form is trabalharemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) trabalharias — the correct form is trabalharias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) trabalhara — the correct form is trabalhara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) trabalhemos — the correct form is trabalhemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) trabalhando — the correct form is trabalhando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) trabalhado — the correct form is trabalhado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to work — the correct form is to work. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does trabalhar mean in English?

trabalhar means “to work”. You use it whenever you talk about to work in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is trabalhar regular or irregular?

trabalhar is regular. trabalhar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of trabalhar?

The gerund is trabalhando and the past participle is trabalhado. The perfect tenses use ter + trabalhado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of trabalhar?

On the trabalhar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The trabalhar present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for trabalhar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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