Spanish · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 36
Trabajo de médicoI work as a doctor
Talking about work. Vocabulary: el trabajo, trabajar, la oficina, el médico, el profesor, el ingeniero, el camarero, la empresa, el hospital, la tienda. Key point: to say your profession with the verb "trabajar" you use "trabajar de + profession", WITHOUT an article: "Trabajo de médico", "Trabaja de profesora". And the workplace is said with "trabajar en": "Trabajo en un hospital", "Trabaja en una oficina". Remember from chapter 4 that a profession with "ser" also takes no article: "Soy médico". English speakers, because English says "as a doctor" with an article, add it by mistake: "Trabajo de un médico" ✗ → "Trabajo de médico" ✓. Useful questions: "¿En qué trabajas?" and "¿A qué te dedicas?".
Dialogue
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Trabajo de un médico / Trabajo de médico
- LucíaMike, ¿a qué te dedicas?Mike, what do you do for work?
- MikeTrabajo de un médico.I work as a doctor. (slip: no article — "Trabajo de médico")
- LucíaCasi. La profesión no lleva artículo: "Trabajo de médico".Almost. The profession takes no article: "Trabajo de médico".
- MikeAh, claro. Trabajo de médico en un hospital.Ah, right. I work as a doctor in a hospital.
- Lucía¡Muy bien! ¿Y en qué hospital trabajas?Very good! And which hospital do you work at?
- MikeEn un hospital del centro. Me gusta mucho mi trabajo.At a hospital downtown. I really like my job.
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¿En qué trabajas?— What do you do for work?
- CarlosLucía, ¿tú en qué trabajas?Lucía, what do you do for work?
- LucíaTrabajo de ingeniera en una empresa grande.I work as an engineer at a big company.
- Carlos¡Qué interesante! ¿Y trabajas en una oficina?How interesting! And do you work in an office?
- LucíaSí, en una oficina del centro. ¿Y tú?Yes, in an office downtown. And you?
- CarlosYo soy profesor. Trabajo en una escuela.I am a teacher. I work at a school.
- LucíaLos dos trabajamos mucho, ¿eh?We both work a lot, huh?
Vocabulary
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- el trabajo
n.m.work, job
- trabajar
verbto work
- la oficina
n.f.office
- el médico
n.m.doctor (m.); la médica (f.)
- el profesor
n.m.teacher (m.); la profesora (f.)
- el ingeniero
n.m.engineer (m.); la ingeniera (f.)
- el camarero
n.m.waiter (m.); la camarera (f.)
- la empresa
n.f.company, firm
- el hospital
n.m.hospital
- la tienda
n.f.shop, store
Grammar
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Your profession: trabajar de / trabajar en
Explanation
There are two ways to say what you do for work. The first you already know from chapter 4: "ser + profession", with no article — "Soy médico", "Es profesora". The second uses the verb "trabajar": "trabajar de + profession", also WITHOUT an article — "Trabajo de médico", "Ella trabaja de camarera", "Trabajamos de ingenieros". The workplace is said with "trabajar en + place": "Trabajo en un hospital", "Trabaja en una oficina", "Trabajan en una empresa grande". To ask: "¿En qué trabajas?" or "¿A qué te dedicas?". The verb "trabajar" is regular (-ar): trabajo, trabajas, trabaja, trabajamos, trabajan. Typical mistake: in English you say "I work AS A doctor" with an article, so English speakers copy it: "Trabajo de un médico" ✗. But in Spanish a profession takes no article: "Trabajo de médico" ✓.
Examples
- Trabajo de médico en un hospital.I work as a doctor in a hospital.
- Mi hermana trabaja de profesora.My sister works as a teacher.
- ¿En qué trabajas? — Trabajo en una empresa.What do you do for work? — I work at a company.
- Ellos trabajan de camareros en un restaurante.They work as waiters in a restaurant.
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