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Я временно работаю дома.

Я временно работаю дома.
I am temporarily working at home.

Breakdown of Я временно работаю дома.

я
I
дома
at home
работать
to work
временно
temporarily
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Questions & Answers about Я временно работаю дома.

Why is there no word for am (like in I am working) in the Russian sentence?

Russian does not use a separate verb like am / is / are in the present tense.

  • English: I am working = auxiliary am
    • main verb working
  • Russian: just a conjugated main verb: я работаю

So я работаю covers both:

  • I work (general, habitual)
  • I am working (right now, in progress)

The context (plus words like сейчас, временно, обычно) tells you which English meaning fits best.

What tense and aspect is работаю, and does it mean I work or I am working?

Работаю is:

  • Present tense
  • 1st person singular (я)
  • Imperfective aspect of the verb работать (to work)

Imperfective aspect in the present can correspond to both:

  • I work at home (habit)
  • I am working at home (right now / currently)

In this sentence, временно (temporarily) suggests a current, temporary situation, so in natural English:
I am temporarily working from home (or I’m working at home for the time being).

What kind of word is временно, and why does it end in -о?

Временно is an adverb meaning temporarily.

  • It comes from the adjective временный (temporary).
  • Adding -о to an adjective often forms an adverb in Russian, similar to English –ly:
    • быстрый → быстро (quick → quickly)
    • постоянный → постоянно (constant → constantly)
    • временный → временно (temporary → temporarily)

So временно tells us how / in what manner the person is working: in a temporary way.

Why is it дома and not в доме? Aren’t both at home / in the house?

Both exist, but they are used differently.

  • дома = at home, a general adverb of place (no preposition)

    • Я работаю дома. = I work at home.
    • Он сейчас дома. = He is at home now.

  • в доме = in the house / inside the building (more literal, physical location)

    • В нашем доме пять этажей. = There are five floors in our house.
    • Люди в доме уже спят. = The people in the house are already sleeping.

In the sentence Я временно работаю дома, we mean at home (as a workplace), not inside the house as a physical container, so дома is the natural choice.

What is the difference between дома, домой, из дома, and на дому?

These are related but not interchangeable:

  1. дома – at home (location, static)

    • Я дома. = I’m at home.
    • Я работаю дома. = I work at home.

  2. домой – (to) home (direction, motion towards)

    • Я иду домой. = I’m going home.

  3. из дома – from home, out of the house (motion away from home)

    • Я вышел из дома. = I went out of the house.
    • Я работаю из дома. = I work from home (emphasizes working remotely, not in the office).

  4. на дому – at home in the sense as a home-based service / business

    • Парикмахер работает на дому. = The hairdresser works from home / has a home-based practice.

In your sentence, дома means simply at home. You could also say Я временно работаю из дома to emphasize remote work in contrast to an office.

Could I say Я временно работаю из дома instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, this is correct, but it has a slightly different nuance:

  • Я временно работаю дома.

    • Neutral at home; just states where you work.

  • Я временно работаю из дома.

    • Emphasizes the remote / from home instead of office idea.
    • Often used specifically about remote work arrangements.

Both can translate as I’m temporarily working from home, but из дома more clearly contrasts with working in the office.

How flexible is the word order? Can I say Я работаю временно дома or Временно я работаю дома?

Russian word order is more flexible than English, but not all variants sound equally natural.

  1. Я временно работаю дома.

    • Very natural, neutral statement.

  2. Я работаю временно дома.

    • Possible, but the adverb временно sounds a bit less natural in this spot; it may sound slightly clumsy or emphasize temporary work at home vs your usual place.

  3. Временно я работаю дома.

    • Also correct. Puts strong emphasis on временно:
      • As for now / For the time being, I work at home.
    • This could sound like a contrast to some other time or plan.

Overall, Я временно работаю дома is the most neutral and typical variant. Changes in order mostly shift emphasis.

Can I drop я and just say Временно работаю дома?

Yes. In Russian, subject pronouns (я, ты, он, etc.) are often omitted when the verb ending clearly shows the subject.

  • Я временно работаю дома. – fully explicit
  • Временно работаю дома. – I’m temporarily working from home. (still clearly “I” from -ю ending)

Omitting я can sound:

  • More informal / conversational
  • More like a brief status update or note:
    • Сейчас не в офисе, временно работаю дома.
      • Not in the office right now, temporarily working from home.
Why is it работаю and not something like работаюсь? Do Russian verbs often add -ся?

Работать is used without -ся when it means to work:

  • Я работаю. = I work / I’m working.

Adding -ся changes the meaning of many verbs. For работать, работаться exists but is different and limited:

  • Мне сегодня хорошо работается. = Today it’s easy / pleasant for me to work.
    (Focus on how the work feels, not on the fact that you work.)

So for a simple I work / I’m working at home, you must use работать without -ся:
Я временно работаю дома.

Can I use a perfective verb instead, like поработаю? How would Я временно поработаю дома sound?

Поработаю is the perfective future of поработать (to work for a while, to put in some work).

  • Я временно работаю дома.

    • Present tense; describes a temporary current arrangement.

  • Я временно поработаю дома.

    • Future meaning: I will work at home for a while / for some time.
    • Often implies a planned, limited period or a decision just made.

So they are not interchangeable:

  • Present temporary situation → работаю
  • Future, limited action → поработаю
How would I negate this? Is Я временно не работаю дома correct, and what does it mean exactly?

Yes, Я временно не работаю дома is correct, and it means:

  • I am not working at home for the time being.
  • Or: I’m temporarily not working from home.

Meaning: usually you might work at home, but right now, temporarily, you do not.

Word order and stress change what you’re negating:

  • Я временно не работаю дома.

    • Temporary absence of working at home (now maybe office or elsewhere).

  • Я не временно работаю дома.

    • Very unusual; would mean something like:
      • It’s not temporary that I work at home, i.e. I work at home not temporarily but permanently.
    • You’d normally phrase that differently in real speech.
How is временно pronounced and stressed?

Временно is pronounced [VREH-men-na], with stress on the first syllable:

  • ВРЕ́-менно

Common learner mistake: stressing the second syllable (вре-*МЕнно*), which is incorrect.

Is there a more formal way to say Я временно работаю дома?

Yes, for a more formal or official context (e.g. HR email, written notice), you might see:

  • Я временно переведён на работу из дома. (m.)
  • Я временно переведена на работу из дома. (f.)
    • Literally: I have been temporarily transferred to work from home.

Or slightly more formal but still simple:

  • В настоящее время я временно работаю из дома.
    • At present I am temporarily working from home.