En mi empresa, la plantilla es pequeña, pero el ambiente es muy bueno.

At my company, the staff is small, but the atmosphere is very good.

Breakdown of En mi empresa, la plantilla es pequeña, pero el ambiente es muy bueno.

• pequeño: small
• ser: to be
• bueno: good
• en: in
• mi: my
• muy: very
• pero: but
• la empresa: the company
• la plantilla: the staff
• el ambiente: the atmosphere

Questions & Answers about En mi empresa, la plantilla es pequeña, pero el ambiente es muy bueno.

What does plantilla mean here? I thought it meant “template” or “insole”.

In Spain, la plantilla is a common way to say the staff or the workforce of a company.

So:

• la plantilla = all the employees as a group
• una plantilla pequeña = a small staff / few employees

The same word also means template (for documents/design) or insole (for shoes), so context is important.

Why is it la plantilla es pequeña and not está pequeña?

With ser/estar, ser is used for more permanent or defining characteristics, and estar for temporary states or conditions.

• La plantilla es pequeña: the staff is (in general) small; this is a basic characteristic of the company.
• La plantilla está pequeña would sound odd; you don’t normally use estar for the size of a group like this.

So es is the natural verb here.

Why is it el ambiente es muy bueno and not está muy bien?

Bueno is an adjective (“good”), and bien is an adverb (“well”), though bien can sometimes act a bit like an adjective in colloquial speech.

• El ambiente es muy bueno = The atmosphere is very good. (Correct, standard.)
• El ambiente está muy bien can be heard in conversation, but it’s less precise and a bit more colloquial. It literally means “the atmosphere is very well”, using bien loosely.

For learners, el ambiente es muy bueno is the safest, most correct-sounding option.

Why muy bueno instead of muy buen (like muy buen ambiente)?

Spanish has an apocopated form buen (shortened from bueno) used only before a masculine singular noun:

• un buen ambiente (before the noun)
• el ambiente es bueno (after the verb; full form)

In your sentence, bueno comes after the verb es and refers back to el ambiente, so it keeps the full form:

• el ambiente es muy bueno, not muy buen.

Why is there a comma after En mi empresa?

In Spanish, when you start a sentence with an introductory phrase that sets the context, it’s very common to follow it with a comma:

• En mi empresa, la plantilla es pequeña…
• En España, la gente cena tarde.

The comma separates the setting (En mi empresa) from the main statement (la plantilla es pequeña, pero…). It’s normal and correct punctuation.

Is empresa always feminine? How can I tell?

Yes, empresa is always feminine: la empresa, mi empresa, una empresa grande, etc.

There’s no perfect rule to guess gender, but:

• Most nouns ending in -a are feminine (with some exceptions like el día, el problema).
• You simply learn empresa as a feminine noun: la empresa.

What’s the difference between en mi empresa and en mi trabajo?

• En mi empresa = in my company (talking about the organization).
• En mi trabajo can mean “at my work / at my workplace” or “in my job”.

You could also say:

• En mi trabajo, la plantilla es pequeña, pero el ambiente es muy bueno.

This is also natural. En mi empresa is slightly more focused on the company as an entity; en mi trabajo is more personal (your job situation).

Why do we say la plantilla es pequeña and not something like son pequeños?

La plantilla is a collective singular noun (like “staff” in English), so the verb agrees in the singular:

• La plantilla es pequeña. (The staff is small.)

You could focus on the people instead and say:

• Somos pocos en la empresa. (There are few of us in the company.)
• Hay poca gente en mi empresa. (There are few people in my company.)

But if you use la plantilla, you normally keep the verb singular.

Is plantilla a formal word? Are there more common alternatives?

In Spain, la plantilla is neutral and quite common, especially when talking about companies and HR.

Other options:

• los empleados = the employees
• el personal = the staff/personnel (also neutral)
• la gente que trabaja allí = the people who work there (more informal)
• el equipo = the team (emphasises collaboration, not just headcount)

In an office/work context, plantilla and personal are very typical.

Could I say el ambiente laboral instead of el ambiente?

Yes. El ambiente laboral means the work atmosphere or the working environment, and it’s more specific:

• El ambiente es muy bueno. = The atmosphere (there) is very good.
• El ambiente laboral es muy bueno. = The work atmosphere is very good.

Both are correct; laboral just clarifies that you mean the work context.

Why is it pero and not aunque or sin embargo?

All of them express contrast, but they aren’t interchangeable in all contexts:

• pero = “but”, simple contrast between two facts:
  • La plantilla es pequeña, pero el ambiente es muy bueno.
• aunque = “although/even though”, usually introduces the weaker or surprising part:
  • Aunque la plantilla es pequeña, el ambiente es muy bueno.
• sin embargo = “however”, more formal, usually starts a new sentence:
  • La plantilla es pequeña; sin embargo, el ambiente es muy bueno.

In your sentence, pero is the most natural, conversational choice.

Can I change the word order, like La plantilla en mi empresa es pequeña?

Yes, you can change the order, but the focus shifts slightly:

• En mi empresa, la plantilla es pequeña…
  Focus: “In my company (as opposed to others), the staff is small…”
• La plantilla en mi empresa es pequeña…
  Focus: “The staff in my company (not in some other company) is small…”

Both are grammatically correct and natural; the original version is more typical when you’re setting the scene.