Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo, usamos videollamadas cortas para mantener las reuniones eficientes.

When we work remotely as a team, we use short video calls to keep the meetings efficient.

Breakdown of Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo, usamos videollamadas cortas para mantener las reuniones eficientes.

• en: in
• para: to
• cuando: when
• usar: to use
• corto: short
• las: the
• mantener: to keep
• la reunión: the meeting
• el equipo: the team
• .: period
• ,: comma
• la videollamada: the video call
• teletrabajar: to work remotely
• eficiente: efficient

Questions & Answers about Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo, usamos videollamadas cortas para mantener las reuniones eficientes.

Why is it cuando teletrabajamos and not cuando teletrabajemos?

In Spanish, cuando + indicative is used for:

• habitual actions (things that normally happen)
• past events that are seen as facts

Here, cuando teletrabajamos describes a regular situation: whenever we’re teleworking as a team, we do X. That’s habitual, so the present indicative (teletrabajamos) is correct.

You would use cuando + subjuntivo (cuando teletrabajemos) for future or uncertain actions, often with a future meaning:

• Cuando teletrabajemos en equipo, ya veremos qué herramienta usamos.
  When we telework as a team (in the future), we’ll see what tool we use.

In your sentence, it’s talking about what we usually do, not about a specific future occasion, so indicative is the natural choice.

What’s the nuance of teletrabajamos compared to trabajamos desde casa or trabajamos en remoto?

All of these are understandable, but there are small differences:

• teletrabajamos: standard, neutral verb meaning we telework / we work remotely, focusing on the mode of work (using technology, not being physically in the office). Very common in Spain.
• trabajamos desde casa: literally we work from home. It specifies the place (home). It doesn’t necessarily include working from, say, a coworking space or another city.
• trabajamos en remoto: we work remotely. Slightly more technical/business-like; fairly common in tech and corporate contexts.

So:

• Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo… = any remote setting.
• Cuando trabajamos desde casa… = specifically when we are at home.
• Cuando trabajamos en remoto… = similar to teletrabajamos, a bit more “corporate” sounding.

Why is it en equipo instead of en un equipo or como equipo?

En equipo is a fixed expression meaning “as a team / in a team-based way”. It focuses on the collaborative mode of working, not on belonging to a particular team.

• trabajar en equipo = to work collaboratively with others
• trabajar en un equipo = to work in a team (a specific group)
• trabajar como equipo = to work as a team, similar meaning, but used less as a set phrase than trabajar en equipo

In your sentence, teletrabajamos en equipo means we telework in a collaborative way, not just we happen to belong to a team.

Why is there no nosotros? Could I say Cuando nosotros teletrabajamos en equipo?

Spanish normally drops the subject pronoun (yo, tú, nosotros, etc.) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• teletrabajamos can only be nosotros/nosotras (we), so nosotros is redundant.

You can say Cuando nosotros teletrabajamos en equipo, but:

• It sounds more emphatic, like contrasting with others:
  Cuando nosotros teletrabajamos en equipo, usamos videollamadas cortas; otros equipos hacen otra cosa.
• In a neutral, non-contrasting sentence, Spaniards usually omit nosotros.

Why is videollamadas written as one word, and is there anything special about its gender and plural?

Videollamada is a compound noun: video + llamada (“call”). In standard modern Spanish it’s usually written as one word: videollamada.

• Singular: la videollamada (feminine)
• Plural: las videollamadas

The gender comes from llamada, which is feminine. There’s no accent in videollamada or videollamadas.

You might sometimes see video-llamada or video llamada, but videollamada is the most accepted and common form.

Could I say cortas videollamadas instead of videollamadas cortas? What’s the difference?

In Spanish, the default position of most adjectives is after the noun:

• videollamadas cortas = short video calls

Putting the adjective before usually adds a special nuance (often subjective, emotional, or stylistic):

• cortas videollamadas could work in a poetic or very stylized context, but it would sound odd in normal, professional speech.

So for a neutral, everyday sentence, videollamadas cortas is the natural and basically the only normal option.

Why is it para mantener las reuniones eficientes and not para que las reuniones sean eficientes? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but they feel slightly different:

1. para mantener las reuniones eficientes

   • Uses para + infinitive to express purpose (in order to…).
   • mantener suggests keeping the meetings efficient, as if they are already efficient and we want to preserve that.
   • It’s a bit more literal and slightly influenced by English structure (to keep meetings efficient). It’s understandable and acceptable, but not the most idiomatic.

2. para que las reuniones sean eficientes

   • Uses para que + subjuntivo (a very natural pattern for goals or aims).
   • Means so that the meetings are efficient / in order for the meetings to be efficient.
   • This sounds more idiomatic and is probably what many Spaniards would say.

So:

• Neutral and very natural: …usamos videollamadas cortas para que las reuniones sean eficientes.
• Your original: fully understandable, just a bit more “translated from English” in feel.

Why do we use las reuniones (with las) even though it’s talking generally about meetings?

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) to talk about things in a general or generic way, where English would usually drop it.

Examples:

• Las reuniones son importantes. = Meetings are important.
• El café es caro. = Coffee is expensive.

So las reuniones here means meetings in general in this context (the meetings we have when we telework in a team), not specific, identified meetings. It’s normal and natural to keep las.

Why is eficientes plural and not eficiente?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in number and gender with the noun they describe.

• Noun: las reuniones → feminine plural
• Adjective: eficiente → must become eficientes for plural

So:

• la reunión eficiente (singular)
• las reuniones eficientes (plural)

If the noun is plural, the adjective must also be plural. That’s why eficiente becomes eficientes here.

Is there a difference between eficientes, eficaces, and productivas for meetings?

Nuance-wise:

• eficientes: they make good use of time and resources; little waste or unnecessary talk.
• eficaces: they achieve their goal; you actually reach decisions or results.
• productivas: they produce useful outcomes, ideas, progress.

In real usage, there’s overlap and people often don’t distinguish them strictly. For work meetings in Spain, you’ll commonly hear all of these:

• reuniones eficientes
• reuniones eficaces
• reuniones productivas

Your sentence with eficientes emphasizes that the meetings are time-efficient and streamlined, which matches well with using videollamadas cortas.

Could I say Cuando estamos teletrabajando en equipo instead of Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

• Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo
  
  • Simple present; describes a habitual situation: whenever we (normally) telework as a team.
• Cuando estamos teletrabajando en equipo
  
  • Uses the progressive; sounds more like at the moments when we are (in the middle of) teleworking as a team.
  • Slightly more focused on the ongoing action at specific times.

In practice, for a general rule or company policy, Spanish prefers the simple present:

• Cuando teletrabajamos en equipo, usamos videollamadas cortas…

The progressive is not wrong, just less natural for this “whenever we do X, we do Y” type statement.