tā shīqù le gōngzuò.

了 here marks that the action is completed.

So 失去 means to lose, and 失去了 means lost / has lost.

In this sentence, 了 shows that the loss of the job actually happened as a completed event:

• 他失去工作 can sound incomplete or unnatural in normal conversation.
• 他失去了工作 clearly means he lost his job.

This 了 is attached to the verb phrase, not the noun 工作.

Mandarin usually follows Subject + Verb + Object order, just like English in many simple sentences.

So:

• 他 = subject
• 失去了 = verb
• 工作 = object

That gives:

• 他失去了工作 = He lost his job

You do not say 工作失去了 here because 工作 is the thing being lost, so it comes after the verb as the object.

Also, 他工作 would usually mean his work / he works, depending on context, so 失去了他工作 would not be the normal way to say lost his job.

In spoken Mandarin, 他 is pronounced tā, and so are:

• 她 = she
• 它 = it

So in speech, they all sound the same: tā.

In writing:

• 他 usually means he
• 她 usually means she
• 它 usually means it

So this sentence specifically uses 他, which means he in written Chinese.

工作 can mean either job or work, depending on context.

In 他失去了工作, it most naturally means:

• job
• employment
• position

That is because 失去工作 usually means to lose one’s job, not just to lose work in a vague sense.

Examples:

• 他有工作。 = He has a job.
• 他在工作。 = He is working.

So the same word can function differently depending on the sentence.

Yes, 失去 is a correct and fairly formal/common verb meaning to lose something important or no longer have it.

It can be used for things like:

• 失去工作 = lose a job
• 失去机会 = lose an opportunity
• 失去信心 = lose confidence
• 失去希望 = lose hope

For a job, native speakers may also say:

• 丢了工作 = lost the job
• 没了工作 = no longer has a job

Compared with 丢, 失去 often sounds a bit more formal or neutral.

Yes. In Mandarin, tense is not marked the same way it is in English. The sentence 他失去了工作 can often be translated as:

• He lost his job
• He has lost his job

The exact English translation depends on context.

Mandarin relies more on:

• context
• time words
• aspect markers like 了

So 了 shows completion, but it does not correspond exactly to one single English tense.

In Chinese, possession is often understood from context.

他失去了工作 literally looks like:

• He lost job

But naturally it means:

• He lost his job

If the meaning is obvious, Chinese often does not explicitly say his.

You could say:

• 他失去了他的工作

But that is usually less natural unless you want emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example, 他的工作 means his job, but in this sentence it is normally unnecessary.

The pronunciation is:

• 失 = shī (first tone)
• 去 = qù (fourth tone)

So:

• 失去 = shīqù

There is no special tone change in this word.

The full sentence is:

• 他 tā
• 失去 shīqù
• 了 le
• 工作 gōngzuò

A natural rhythm would be something like: tā shīqù le gōngzuò

Notice that 了 is usually light and unstressed.

Yes, you can.

• 他失去了工作 = He lost his job.
• 他失去了一份工作 = He lost a job / one job position.

Adding 一份 makes the noun phrase more explicit and countable.

About 份:

• It is a measure word often used for jobs, reports, newspapers, etc.

But in everyday speech, 失去了工作 is already very natural and common.

Both can relate to work, but they are not the same.

• 工作 usually means job or work
• 职业 usually means profession / occupation

So:

• 失去工作 = lose one’s job
• 失去职业 would sound much less natural in this context

If someone was fired or became unemployed, 工作 is the normal word.

职业 is more about someone’s professional category, such as:

• teacher
• doctor
• engineer

So in this sentence, 工作 is the right choice.

In most normal situations, that sounds incomplete or unnatural.

Because this sentence describes a completed event, 了 is normally needed:

• 他失去了工作

Without 了, the sentence may sound like:

• a headline
• a very compressed style
• an incomplete statement
• or a generic description in a special context

For everyday Mandarin, if you mean he lost his job, use 他失去了工作.