Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): La jornada es completa, pero existe la opción de trabajar con jornada parcial. - The workday is full‑time, but there is the option of working part‑time.

No. Jornada in this context is a work-related word and usually means “working day / working hours / shift”, or more loosely, “work schedule”.

Typical nuances:

jornada completa → full working day / full‑time hours
jornada parcial → partial working day / part‑time hours

It’s not just a calendar day (día). It refers specifically to the amount or pattern of work hours.

What’s the difference between jornada completa and jornada parcial?

They’re the standard way in Spain to talk about full‑time vs. part‑time work:

jornada completa:
- Usually means a full‑time job, roughly 40 hours per week (can vary by sector/contract).
- Implies you’re working the standard full schedule for that position.
jornada parcial:
- Means part‑time, anything significantly less than the standard full‑time hours.
- Could be mornings only, a few days a week, or reduced daily hours.

So the sentence means: the default is full‑time, but there’s an option to work part‑time hours instead.

Why is it la jornada es completa and not la jornada está completa?

This is a ser vs. estar issue.

ser is used for inherent, defining characteristics.
estar is used for temporary states or conditions.

Here, jornada completa describes the type of job/contract (full‑time job), which is viewed as a defining characteristic of the position, not a temporary state.

So:

La jornada es completa. = The job is full‑time (that’s the nature of the post).
La jornada está completa. would sound like “the shift is full / filled up”, a temporary situation (for example, all spots on today’s shift are taken), which is not the intended meaning.

What does existe la opción de mean, and could you also say hay opción de?

Existe la opción de… literally means “there exists the option of…”, i.e. “there is the possibility / option to…”. It’s a bit more formal or neutral.

You could also say:

Hay opción de trabajar con jornada parcial.
- Natural and a bit more colloquial.
- Notice: you normally drop the article: hay opción de, not hay la opción de.

You might also find alternatives like:

Se ofrece la posibilidad de trabajar con jornada parcial.
Se puede trabajar con jornada parcial.

All convey a similar idea: there is a part‑time option.

Why is it con jornada parcial and not a jornada parcial or en jornada parcial?

In this structure, Spanish commonly uses con + noun to express “with (the characteristic of) X”:

trabajar con jornada parcial = to work with a part‑time schedule
trabajar con contrato indefinido = to work with a permanent contract

Other prepositions you’ll see in similar meanings:

a tiempo parcial (very common)
- trabajar a tiempo parcial = work part‑time
a jornada completa / parcial also exists, but a tiempo parcial/completo is more frequent for jobs.
en jornada partida / en turno de noche, etc., in specific combinations.

So con jornada parcial is one correct way to say “with a part‑time working schedule”, using con to link the work to a characteristic it has.

Is jornada always feminine? How does that affect the adjectives?

Yes, jornada is a feminine noun: la jornada.

That’s why the adjectives and articles agree in gender:

la jornada completa
la jornada parcial

Notice:

completa changes form (masc. completo, fem. completa).
parcial has the same form for masculine and feminine (un contrato parcial, una jornada parcial), but it still agrees in gender grammatically.

So you must keep feminine agreement with jornada in things like articles, adjectives, and demonstratives: esta jornada, toda la jornada, etc.

Could you say “La jornada es completa, pero existe la opción de trabajar a tiempo parcial” instead? Is that more natural?

Yes, that sentence is totally correct and very natural:

La jornada es completa, pero existe la opción de trabajar a tiempo parcial.

In Spain, a tiempo completo / a tiempo parcial are very common ways to say full‑time / part‑time.
The meaning is essentially the same as con jornada parcial, just phrased differently.

Differences:

con jornada parcial: emphasizes the type of “jornada” (working schedule).
a tiempo parcial: emphasizes the amount of time.

Both are fine; a tiempo parcial is probably what you’ll see most in job ads.

Why do they repeat jornada instead of just saying something like “…pero existe la opción de trabajar en parcial”?

In Spanish, you can’t normally drop the noun like that and just leave parcial hanging; parcial is an adjective, and it needs the noun (jornada, tiempo, etc.) to modify.

So:

✔ jornada parcial
✔ tiempo parcial
✘ trabajar en parcial (unnatural / incorrect)

To avoid repetition, Spanish usually changes the expression instead of isolating the adjective, for example:

La jornada es completa, pero existe la opción de trabajar a tiempo parcial.
La jornada es completa, pero también hay opción de jornada parcial.

But you don’t say “trabajar en parcial”; some noun must be there, even if it’s a different one.

What’s the function of de trabajar after la opción?

Here, de + infinitive is a very common pattern:

la opción de + infinitive
la posibilidad de + infinitive
la oportunidad de + infinitive

So:

la opción de trabajar = the option to work

You could also see:

la opción para trabajar con jornada parcial

de + infinitive focuses more on “the option to do X”.
para + infinitive can sound a bit more goal‑oriented (“an option in order to work X”), but in everyday usage they often overlap. Here, de trabajar is the default and most natural.

Can the whole sentence also be written with hay instead of existe?

Yes, very naturally, with a small change:

La jornada es completa, pero hay opción de trabajar con jornada parcial.

Notes:

Use hay opción de, not hay la opción de in standard Spanish.
hay opción de… is slightly more colloquial than existe la opción de…, but both are common and correct.

Meaning stays the same: The job is full‑time, but there is the option to work part‑time.