Learn Spanish (Spain): No trabajo en la tienda.

No trabajo en la tienda.

I do not work in the shop.

Breakdown of No trabajo en la tienda.

no / not

trabajar

to work

in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)

la tienda

the shop

Questions & Answers about No trabajo en la tienda.

Where is the word for 'I' in this sentence?

In Spanish, the 'I' is built right into the verb. Trabajo comes from the regular verb trabajar (to work). Because it ends in -o, it specifically means 'I work'. You do not need to say yo (I) unless you want to add special emphasis.

Wait, doesn't trabajo also mean 'job' or 'work' as a noun?

Yes, it does! El trabajo is the noun for 'the job' or 'the work'. But here, trabajo is the 'I' form of the action word trabajar. You can tell it is a verb in this sentence because it comes right after no and tells us what action the person is not doing.

Why is it No trabajo and not something like 'No hago trabajo' for 'I do not work'?

English uses helper words like 'do' or 'does' to make negatives, as in 'I do not work'. Spanish is much simpler: you just put no directly in front of the verb. So no trabajo completely covers 'I do not work'.

Does en always mean 'in'?

En is a very handy little word that can mean 'in', 'on', or 'at' depending on the context. Here, en la tienda can mean 'in the shop' or 'at the shop'.