Breakdown of Los estudiantes trabajan juntos en el proyecto.
en
on
trabajar
to work
el estudiante
the student
el proyecto
the project
junto
together
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Questions & Answers about Los estudiantes trabajan juntos en el proyecto.
Why do we say Los estudiantes instead of just Estudiantes?
In Spanish the definite article los is used to talk about a specific group: ‘the students.’ If you drop the article and say Estudiantes trabajan…, it sounds more general—“Students work…”—as a general statement or fact.
What form of the verb trabajar is trabajan?
Trabajan is the present indicative, third-person plural form (“they work”). It matches Los estudiantes (they), so we don’t attach any pronoun; the ending ‑an tells us who’s doing the action.
Why don’t we need a subject pronoun like ellos before trabajan?
Spanish verbs carry person and number information in their endings. Since trabajan is already “they work,” adding ellos (“they”) would be redundant unless you want to add extra emphasis or contrast.
Why is juntos placed after the verb? Could it go somewhere else?
Adverbs of manner (how something is done) usually follow the verb: trabajan juntos. You could also say juntos trabajan, but that fronting is less neutral and might stress juntos (“It’s together that they work”). After the verb is the default.
What if all the students were girls? Would you still say juntos?
No—adjectives and some adverbial forms agree in gender and number. For an all-female group you’d say juntas:
Las estudiantes trabajan juntas en el proyecto.
Why is it en el proyecto and not en proyecto or en un proyecto?
- En proyecto is ungrammatical because Spanish generally needs an article before a singular count noun.
- En un proyecto (“in a project”) is correct if you’re speaking of any project in general.
- En el proyecto specifies a particular project you and your listener both know about.
What’s the difference between trabajar en and trabajar para?
- Trabajar en means “to work on” something (a task, a project).
- Trabajar para means “to work for” someone (an employer) or “in order to” when followed by an infinitive (e.g. para aprender).
How would you say “The students are working together on the project” in the progressive tense?
Use the present progressive:
Los estudiantes están trabajando juntos en el proyecto.
Could you drop Los estudiantes and just say Trabajan juntos en el proyecto?
Yes. If the context already makes clear who you’re talking about, you can omit the explicit subject:
(Ellos) trabajan juntos en el proyecto.