Travailler is the verb to work. It is one of the highest-frequency -er verbs in the language — used for jobs (je travaille dans une banque), study habits (je travaille mon anglais), effort (il faut travailler), and the figurative meanings of operating, kneading, or processing (travailler la pâte, l'idée travaille mon esprit). The conjugation is fully regular and follows the parler template: stem travaill-, all standard endings, avoir in compound tenses, no stem changes whatsoever.
The orthographic complication is small but reliable. Because the stem ends in -ill- (travaill-), the imparfait and subjunctive of nous and vous show what looks like a double-i: nous travaillions, vous travailliez. This isn't a true double-i like étudier/étudiions — there's only one i in the stem, and one in the ending — but it's worth flagging because learners often write nous travaillons (the present) when they mean nous travaillions (the imparfait). One letter, one tense.
What separates travailler from English to work is mostly a register-and-collocation issue. Travailler covers human work and effort — but it does not translate the English sense of to work meaning "to function" (the printer doesn't work). For that, French uses marcher or fonctionner. This page is the full reference.
The simple tenses
These are the tenses formed without an auxiliary. Travailler is fully regular — no stem changes, no orthographic adjustments at nous travaillons, no surprises. The stem stays travaill- throughout.
Présent de l'indicatif
Standard -er endings on the travaill- stem.
| Person | Form | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| je | travaille | /tʁa.vaj/ |
| tu | travailles | /tʁa.vaj/ |
| il / elle / on | travaille | /tʁa.vaj/ |
| nous | travaillons | /tʁa.va.jɔ̃/ |
| vous | travaillez | /tʁa.va.je/ |
| ils / elles | travaillent | /tʁa.vaj/ |
The 1sg, 2sg, 3sg, and 3pl forms are pronounced identically (/tʁa.vaj/) — the standard -er pattern. The -ill- in writing is pronounced /j/ (a glide, like the y in English yes), which is why the four silent-ending forms all end in /vaj/.
Je travaille dans une boîte de pub à Lyon.
I work at an advertising agency in Lyon.
Tu travailles tard ce soir, ou on peut dîner ensemble ?
Are you working late tonight, or can we have dinner together?
Ils travaillent tous les week-ends en ce moment, c'est dur.
They've been working every weekend lately, it's tough.
Imparfait
Built on the travaill- stem with the regular imparfait endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. The imparfait nous travaillions is one letter different from the present nous travaillons — that i changes the tense.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | travaillais |
| tu | travaillais |
| il / elle / on | travaillait |
| nous | travaillions |
| vous | travailliez |
| ils / elles | travaillaient |
In speech, nous travaillons and nous travaillions are pronounced identically (/tʁa.va.jɔ̃/) — context distinguishes them. In writing, the missing or present i is the only signal of tense.
Quand je travaillais à Paris, je rentrais chez moi à pied.
When I worked in Paris, I used to walk home.
Mes parents travaillaient tous les deux à l'hôpital.
My parents both worked at the hospital.
Vous travailliez ensemble à l'époque, non ?
You used to work together back then, didn't you?
Passé simple (literary)
Regular 1er-groupe pattern: -ai, -as, -a, -âmes, -âtes, -èrent. Diacritic alarms: circumflex on nous travaillâmes and vous travaillâtes, grave accent on ils travaillèrent.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | travaillai |
| tu | travaillas |
| il / elle / on | travailla |
| nous | travaillâmes |
| vous | travaillâtes |
| ils / elles | travaillèrent |
Il travailla d'arrache-pied pendant trois ans pour finir sa thèse.
He worked tirelessly for three years to finish his thesis. (literary)
Futur simple
Stem: the full infinitive travailler-, plus standard endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | travaillerai |
| tu | travailleras |
| il / elle / on | travaillera |
| nous | travaillerons |
| vous | travaillerez |
| ils / elles | travailleront |
Je travaillerai depuis chez moi vendredi.
I'll be working from home on Friday.
Quand on aura les nouveaux ordinateurs, on travaillera beaucoup plus vite.
When we have the new computers, we'll work much faster.
Conditionnel présent
Same travailler- base with imparfait endings.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | travaillerais |
| tu | travaillerais |
| il / elle / on | travaillerait |
| nous | travaillerions |
| vous | travailleriez |
| ils / elles | travailleraient |
Si je gagnais au loto, je ne travaillerais plus jamais.
If I won the lottery, I'd never work again.
Subjonctif présent
Standard subjunctive endings on the travaill- stem.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (que) je | travaille |
| (que) tu | travailles |
| (qu')il / elle / on | travaille |
| (que) nous | travaillions |
| (que) vous | travailliez |
| (qu')ils / elles | travaillent |
The nous travaillions and vous travailliez forms are spelled identically to the imparfait. Context, plus the presence of que, disambiguates.
Le patron veut qu'on travaille samedi.
The boss wants us to work Saturday.
Il faut que vous travailliez davantage votre prononciation.
You need to work on your pronunciation more.
Impératif
Three forms. The tu imperative drops the -s — travaille, not travailles.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| (tu) | travaille |
| (nous) | travaillons |
| (vous) | travaillez |
Travaille bien et tu auras une augmentation l'an prochain.
Work hard and you'll get a raise next year.
Travaillons ensemble sur ce projet.
Let's work together on this project.
Participles and gérondif
- Participe passé: travaillé (agrees with preceding direct object when avoir is auxiliary)
- Participe présent: travaillant
- Gérondif: en travaillant
En travaillant un peu chaque jour, on finit par y arriver.
By working a little each day, you eventually get there.
Bien travaillée, cette pâte sera parfaite pour la pizza.
Well kneaded, this dough will be perfect for pizza. (note agreement: pâte is feminine)
The compound tenses
Travailler uses avoir as its auxiliary in all compound tenses.
Passé composé
avoir (présent) + travaillé
| Person | Form | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| j' | ai travaillé | I worked / I have worked |
| tu | as travaillé | you worked |
| il / elle / on | a travaillé | he/she/we worked |
| nous | avons travaillé | we worked |
| vous | avez travaillé | you worked |
| ils / elles | ont travaillé | they worked |
J'ai travaillé toute la journée sur cette présentation.
I worked all day on this presentation.
Tu as travaillé combien d'heures cette semaine ?
How many hours did you work this week?
Plus-que-parfait
avoir (imparfait) + travaillé
J'avais travaillé chez eux pendant six mois avant de partir.
I had worked for them for six months before leaving.
Futur antérieur
avoir (futur) + travaillé
Quand j'aurai travaillé encore deux ans, je pourrai prendre ma retraite.
When I've worked another two years, I can retire.
Conditionnel passé
avoir (conditionnel) + travaillé
J'aurais travaillé plus si j'avais su que c'était la dernière chance.
I would have worked more if I'd known it was the last chance.
Subjonctif passé
avoir (subjonctif) + travaillé
Le prof n'est pas content qu'on n'ait pas travaillé pendant les vacances.
The teacher isn't happy that we didn't work during the vacation.
The major uses
1. Travailler alone — to work, to have a job
The bare verb means "to have a job" or "to be at work." No preposition is required.
Mes deux frères travaillent.
Both my brothers work / are employed.
Tu travailles ou tu fais des études ?
Are you working or are you studying?
In French, je travaille is also the natural answer to "what are you doing right now?" — meaning I'm at work / I'm working. There is no progressive ("am working"); the present indicative covers both English present and present progressive.
2. Travailler chez / à / dans — workplace prepositions
The choice of preposition depends on the type of workplace:
- travailler chez
- company name or person — at someone's place / at a named company: je travaille chez Renault, chez le médecin
- travailler à
- named institution or city — at: travailler à la mairie, à Paris
- travailler dans
- sector or building type — in (a sector, a kind of place): travailler dans la finance, dans une banque, dans un hôpital
- travailler pour
- employer (less common in French than English) — for, on behalf of: travailler pour une ONG
Elle travaille chez L'Oréal depuis dix ans.
She's worked at L'Oréal for ten years.
Mon père travaillait à la SNCF, ma mère à la poste.
My father worked at the SNCF, my mother at the post office.
Je travaille dans le marketing depuis la sortie de mon master.
I've worked in marketing since I finished my master's.
Ils travaillent pour une grande boîte de conseil.
They work for a big consulting firm.
The choice between chez and à is sometimes a judgement call: je travaille chez Apple and je travaille à Apple are both acceptable, but chez is more common with private companies and à with public institutions.
3. Travailler comme — to work as (a profession)
For naming a profession, comme (as) introduces the role.
Elle travaille comme avocate dans un grand cabinet.
She works as a lawyer at a major firm.
Mon cousin travaille comme cuisinier dans un restaurant étoilé.
My cousin works as a chef at a starred restaurant.
In French, professions following comme (or être) take no article: je travaille comme professeur, elle est avocate — never comme un professeur or elle est une avocate. This is one of the most common transfer errors from English.
4. Travailler sur / à — to work on (a project)
For the topic or project being worked on, French uses sur (most common) or à (slightly more formal).
Je travaille sur un nouveau projet depuis lundi.
I've been working on a new project since Monday.
L'équipe travaille à un nouveau prototype.
The team is working on a new prototype.
On travaille tous sur la même base de données.
We're all working on the same database.
5. Travailler + direct object — to work on (improve, knead, study)
A transitive use: the object is what is being shaped, improved, or studied.
Je dois travailler ma prononciation, c'est mon point faible.
I need to work on my pronunciation, it's my weak point.
Travaille la pâte pendant cinq minutes avant de la laisser reposer.
Knead the dough for five minutes before letting it rest.
Ce soir je travaille mes maths, j'ai un contrôle demain.
Tonight I'm studying my math, I have a test tomorrow.
This use of travailler + DO is heavily idiomatic. Travailler ses maths (study one's math) is everyday speech; travailler la pâte (knead the dough) is the standard culinary verb; travailler son swing (work on one's swing) crosses to sport.
6. Figurative travailler — to gnaw, to obsess
In a more literary register, travailler can describe an idea or feeling that won't leave the mind.
Cette histoire me travaille depuis des semaines.
This story has been on my mind for weeks.
Ce problème le travaille jour et nuit.
This problem is gnawing at him day and night.
This figurative use is high-frequency in literary and reflective writing. The image is of an idea actively shaping or working on a person, not the other way around.
High-frequency travailler idioms
- travailler dur — to work hard
- travailler à mi-temps / à temps plein — to work part-time / full-time
- travailler en équipe — to work as a team
- travailler au noir — to work off the books, undeclared
- travailler d'arrache-pied — to work tirelessly, flat out
- travailler pour des prunes — to work for nothing (idiomatic)
- bien travailler à l'école — to do well at school
- faire travailler quelqu'un — to give someone work / make someone work / exercise (the brain)
Mon grand-père a travaillé d'arrache-pied toute sa vie.
My grandfather worked his whole life without rest.
Ce livre fait vraiment travailler la mémoire.
This book really exercises your memory.
Elle travaille à mi-temps depuis la naissance de son fils.
She's been working part-time since her son was born.
Travailler vs marcher / fonctionner — the false friend
This is the single most important false friend for English speakers. English to work covers two things: human labor (I work in finance) and machines functioning (the printer doesn't work). French splits them:
- travailler = to do labor, exert effort (only animate subjects, or by extension idea/dough/material)
- marcher = to function, to operate (informal: ça marche !)
- fonctionner = to function, to operate (formal/technical)
You can never say l'imprimante ne travaille pas. The printer doesn't work in the labor sense — it functions or it doesn't. Use marcher in conversation, fonctionner in formal or technical writing.
L'imprimante ne marche pas, je vais appeler le service technique.
The printer isn't working, I'll call tech support. (marcher — never travailler for a machine)
Ce système ne fonctionne plus depuis la mise à jour.
This system no longer works since the update. (fonctionner — formal register)
Ça a marché ! Le code est bon.
It worked! The code is good.
By extension, marcher also covers: a plan working out (ça a marché), a solution succeeding (si ça marche, on continue), and a project taking off (notre boîte commence à marcher).
Comparison with English
Three friction points:
Travailler is humans only. English to work applies to people (I work in finance), machines (the engine works), plans (the plan worked), and solutions (it worked). French restricts travailler to human/animate effort. Machines and plans use marcher (informal) or fonctionner (formal). This is the #1 error English speakers make.
No article before profession. In English, I work as a teacher (a teacher). In French, je travaille comme professeur — no article. The same applies to je suis professeur (without un). Importing the article from English (je travaille comme un professeur) means "I work like a teacher" (in the manner of one), which is an entirely different meaning.
Many possible prepositions for "where." English mostly uses at / for / in. French distinguishes finely: chez (a company or person), à (a named place), dans (a sector), pour (an employer in a service-rendered sense). English speakers tend to overuse pour (transferring from for); the most natural choice for a company is usually chez.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using travailler for machines or plans.
❌ Mon ordinateur ne travaille pas.
Wrong — for machines, use marcher or fonctionner, not travailler.
✅ Mon ordinateur ne marche pas.
My computer isn't working.
Mistake 2: Adding an article before a profession.
❌ Je travaille comme un médecin.
Wrong — no article after comme for professions; this means 'I work like a doctor (in the manner of one).'
✅ Je travaille comme médecin.
I work as a doctor.
Mistake 3: Using pour by default for the employer.
❌ Je travaille pour Renault.
Stilted — chez is more natural for a company name.
✅ Je travaille chez Renault.
I work at Renault.
Mistake 4: Writing nous travaillons for the imparfait.
❌ Quand nous travaillons à Paris, on rentrait tard.
Wrong — the imparfait needs the i: nous travaillions.
✅ Quand nous travaillions à Paris, on rentrait tard.
When we worked in Paris, we'd come home late.
Mistake 5: Keeping the -s on the tu imperative.
❌ Travailles bien à l'école !
Wrong — -er imperatives drop the -s in the tu form.
✅ Travaille bien à l'école !
Do well at school!
Key takeaways
Travailler is a fully regular -er verb meaning to work in the sense of human labor and effort. It takes avoir in compound tenses: j'ai travaillé, j'avais travaillé. The conjugation contains no surprises — only the imparfait/subjunctive nous travaillions / vous travailliez with one i before the ending, easily mistaken for the present.
The biggest pitfall is the false friend: travailler does not mean "to function." For machines, plans, or solutions that work, French uses marcher (informal) or fonctionner (formal). L'imprimante ne marche pas, never l'imprimante ne travaille pas.
The preposition system around travailler is rich: chez for a company or person (chez Renault, chez le médecin), à for a named institution (à la mairie), dans for a sector (dans la finance), pour for an employer in a service sense (pour une ONG), comme for the profession (comme avocate). Pick the preposition that matches the type of complement, and remember: no article before the profession after comme or être.
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