Travailler: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French

Introduction

Travailler means “to work”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for travailler, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.

Example sentences

Twelve sentences with travailler, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.

  1. “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.”
  2. “Tu travailles dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “You work in an office in the city centre every day.”
  3. “J'ai travaillé le soir après les cours cette semaine.” — “I have worked in the evening after class this week.”
  4. “Il travaillait à Paris tous les jours autrefois.” — “He used to work in Paris every day in the past.”
  5. “Nous travaillerons dans un bureau au centre-ville demain.” — “We will work in an office in the city centre tomorrow.”
  6. “Tu as travaillé le soir après les cours cette semaine.” — “You have worked in the evening after class this week.”
  7. “Je travaillerais à Paris tous les jours un jour.” — “I would work in Paris every day one day.”
  8. “Il est important que il travaille dans un bureau au centre-ville.” — “It is important that he work in an office in the city centre.”
  9. “Nous avions travaillé le soir après les cours avant la fête.” — “We had worked in the evening after class before the party.”
  10. “Il travaillera à Paris tous les jours demain.” — “He will work in Paris every day tomorrow.”
  11. “Ils travaillent dans un bureau au centre-ville tous les jours.” — “They work in an office in the city centre every day.”
  12. “Travaille le soir après les cours !” — “Work in the evening after class!”

A short dialogue

Marie and Pierre are talking about in Paris every day. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how travailler changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of travailler below is taken from the verified tables.

Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je travaillerai dans un bureau au centre-ville demain.” — “I will work in an office in the city centre tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai travaillé le soir après les cours cette semaine.” — “I have worked in the evening after class this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je travaillerais à Paris tous les jours un jour.” — “I would work in Paris every day one day.”

Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.

Travailler in different tenses

The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of travailler that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.

The present: habits and facts

In the present, travailler describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is travaille: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.” — “I work in Paris every day every day.”

The imperfect: the past as it used to be

In the imperfect, travailler describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is travaillait: “Il travaillait dans un bureau au centre-ville autrefois.” — “He used to work in an office in the city centre in the past.”

The passé composé: finished actions

In the passé composé, travailler reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle travaillé. The je form is ai travaillé: “J'ai travaillé le soir après les cours cette semaine.” — “I have worked in the evening after class this week.”

The future: what will happen

In the future, travailler talks about what will happen. The nous form is travaillerons: “Nous travaillerons à Paris tous les jours demain.” — “We will work in Paris every day tomorrow.”

The conditional: what would happen

In the conditional, travailler talks about what would happen. The tu form is travaillerais: “Tu travaillerais dans un bureau au centre-ville un jour.” — “You would work in an office in the city centre one day.”

The subjunctive: wishes and doubts

In the subjunctive, travailler appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is travaille, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je travaille le soir après les cours.” — “It is important that I work in the evening after class.”

Common mistakes

Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Je travailler à Paris tous les jours.”

✓ Right: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours.”

The infinitive travailler never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form travaille.

Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Tu travaille à Paris tous les jours.”

✓ Right: “Tu travailles à Paris tous les jours.”

travaille is the je form. With tu you need travailles. Check the subject before you choose the form.

Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours hier.”

✓ Right: “Je ai travaillé à Paris tous les jours hier.”

The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai travaillé, not the present.

Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu travailles dans un bureau au centre-ville.”

✓ Right: “Il est important que tu travailles dans un bureau au centre-ville.”

After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: travailles, not the indicative travailles.

Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé

✗ Wrong: “Je travaillé à Paris tous les jours.”

✓ Right: “Je ai travaillé à Paris tous les jours.”

The passé composé of travailler needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle travaillé: the full je form is ai travaillé.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on travailler. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of travailler in the Present indicative?

    • A) travaille
    • B) travailles
    • C) travaillons
    • D) travaillez

  2. What is the tu form of travailler in the Present indicative?

    • A) travaillez
    • B) travailles
    • C) travaille
    • D) travaillons

  3. What is the il/elle form of travailler in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai travaillé
    • B) as travaillé
    • C) avons travaillé
    • D) a travaillé

  4. What is the nous form of travailler in the Imperfect?

    • A) travaillions
    • B) travaillais
    • C) travaillait
    • D) travailliez

  5. What is the tu form of travailler in the Future?

    • A) travaillera
    • B) travaillerons
    • C) travailleras
    • D) travaillerai

  6. What is the je form of travailler in the Conditional?

    • A) travailleriez
    • B) travaillerais
    • C) travaillerait
    • D) travaillerions

  7. What is the il/elle form of travailler in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) travaille
    • B) travailles
    • C) travaillions
    • D) travailliez

  8. What is the je form of travailler in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?

    • A) avais travaillé
    • B) avait travaillé
    • C) avions travaillé
    • D) aviez travaillé

  9. What is the gerund of travailler?

    • A) en écoutant
    • B) en attendant
    • C) en mangeant
    • D) en travaillant

  10. What does travailler mean in English?

  • A) to wait
  • B) to eat
  • C) to work
  • D) to listen to

Answer key

  1. A) travaille — the je form of travailler in the Present indicative is travaille. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. B) travailles — the tu form of travailler in the Present indicative is travailles. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) a travaillé — the il/elle form of travailler in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a travaillé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) travaillions — the nous form of travailler in the Imperfect is travaillions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. C) travailleras — the tu form of travailler in the Future is travailleras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. B) travaillerais — the je form of travailler in the Conditional is travaillerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. A) travaille — the il/elle form of travailler in the Present subjunctive is travaille. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) avais travaillé — the je form of travailler in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais travaillé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. D) en travaillant — the gerund of travailler is en travaillant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
  10. C) to work — travailler means “to work” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.

Frequently asked questions

What does travailler mean in English?

travailler means “to work”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is travailler regular or irregular?

travailler is regular in every tense. The gerund is travaillant and the past participle is travaillé.

How do I practise travailler every day?

Say one sentence with travailler in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je travaille à Paris tous les jours tous les jours.”, “J'ai travaillé à Paris tous les jours cette semaine.” and “Je travaillerai à Paris tous les jours demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.

Pronunciation

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

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