Lesson 13: Work and Daily Life
Talk about professions, workplaces, daily schedules, and professional life using past, present, and future tenses together.
Overview
Work and daily routines are among the most common topics in any language — they come up in almost every introductory conversation. This lesson brings together the vocabulary of professional life with the grammar tools you have already learned: past/present/future tenses, the suffixes -ist- and -ej-, and time expressions. The result is the ability to talk fluently about what you do, where you work, what your day looks like, and what your professional plans are.
Daily schedule talk is particularly valuable because it exercises all three tenses in natural sequence: what I did this morning (-is), what I am doing now (-as), and what I will do this afternoon (-os). This triangular tense movement is one of the most natural patterns in real conversation.
Learning Objectives
- Name a wide range of professions using -ist- and other forms
- Describe a daily work schedule in all three tenses
- Discuss workplaces using -ej- and specific vocabulary
- Talk about one's profession using kiel and estas constructions
Vocabulary
| Esperanto | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| instruisto | teacher | instrui + -ist- |
| kuracisto | doctor, physician | |
| inĝeniero | engineer | |
| advokato | lawyer | |
| artisto | artist | |
| komercisto | merchant, businessperson | |
| studento | student | |
| pensiulo | pensioner, retiree | pensi + -ul- |
| informat(ik)isto | IT specialist | |
| sciencisto | scientist | |
| jurnalisto | journalist | |
| programisto | programmer | |
| kuiristo | cook, chef | |
| kelnero | waiter | |
| labori | to work | |
| dungi | to hire, employ | |
| dungito | employee | dungi + -it- |
| dunganto | employer | dungi + -ant- |
| salajro | salary | |
| oficejo | office | |
| fabrikoejo / fabriko | factory | |
| kunveno | meeting | |
| kolego | colleague | |
| tasko | task | |
| projekto | project | |
| kunordigi | to coordinate | |
| raporti | to report | |
| prezenti | to present | |
| veki sin | to wake up | |
| vekiĝi | to wake up (intr.) | |
| komenci laboron | to start work | |
| fini laboron | to finish work | |
| tagmanĝi | to have lunch | |
| foriĝi | to leave |
Grammar Focus
Pattern 1: Talking about your profession — Mi laboras kiel... / Mi estas...
There are two standard ways to describe your profession:
Using estas (to be):
- Mi estas instruisto. — I am a teacher.
- Ŝi estas kuracistino. — She is a (female) doctor.
- Li estis advokato antaŭ la pensiigo. — He was a lawyer before retirement.
- Ili estos inĝenieroj post sia studado. — They will be engineers after their studies.
Using laboras kiel (works as):
- Mi laboras kiel instruisto en baza lernejo. — I work as a teacher in a primary school.
- Ŝi laboras kiel kuracistino en granda hospitalo. — She works as a doctor in a large hospital.
- Li laboris kiel advokato dum dudek jaroj. — He worked as a lawyer for twenty years.
The difference: estas emphasizes identity; laboras kiel emphasizes the current role or function. Both are correct.
Asking about professions:
- Kio estas via profesio? — What is your profession?
- Kiel vi laboras? / Kion vi faras por vivi? — What do you do for a living?
- Kie vi laboras? — Where do you work?
- Kiom longe vi laboras tie? — How long have you worked there?
Common mistake: Omitting the indefinite article that English would use. In Esperanto, you typically say Mi estas instruisto (no unu / no article) not Mi estas unu instruisto.
Pattern 2: The -ist- and -ej- connection for workplaces
Many professions pair naturally with -ej- to create the workplace name:
| Professional | Workplace |
|---|---|
| instruisto (teacher) | lernejo (school) |
| kuracisto (doctor) | kuracistejo / hospitalo (clinic / hospital) |
| dentisto (dentist) | dentistejo (dental surgery) |
| advokato (lawyer) | advokatejo (law office) |
| programisto (programmer) | programistejo / oficejo (programmer's office) |
| kuiristo (cook) | kuirejo (kitchen) |
| kelnero (waiter) | restoracio (restaurant) |
Using these in sentences:
- La dentisto laboras en sia dentistejo tri tagojn semajne. — The dentist works in their dental surgery three days a week.
- En la kuirejo laboras kvar kuiristoj. — In the kitchen work four cooks.
- Nia lernejo havas dudek instruistojn. — Our school has twenty teachers.
Pattern 3: Describing a daily schedule — tense triangulation
Use all three tenses in sequence to describe a full workday:
Past morning:
- Hieraŭ mi vekiĝis je la sesa kaj duono. — Yesterday I woke up at half past six.
- Mi manĝis rapide kaj iris al la oficejo. — I ate quickly and went to the office.
- La unua kunveno komenciĝis je la oka. — The first meeting started at eight.
Present day:
- Hodiaŭ mi laboras de la hejmo. — Today I work from home.
- Ni havas gravan projekton ĉi-semajne. — We have an important project this week.
- Mi kunordígas la laboron de mia teamo. — I coordinate the work of my team.
Future plans:
- Morgaŭ mi prezentos miajn rezultojn al la direktoro. — Tomorrow I will present my results to the director.
- Postmorgaŭ ni havos teama kunveno. — The day after tomorrow we will have a team meeting.
- Ĉi-monate mi finos la projekton. — This month I will finish the project.
A full workday narrative (combining all three):
Hieraŭ mi vekiĝis je la sepa, manĝis kaj veturis al la oficejo. La tuta tago estis plena: mi partoprenis tri kunvenojn, skribis raportojn kaj helpis junajn kolegojn. Hodiaŭ mi laboras malpli intense — estas nur unu kunveno. Morgaŭ, tamen, mi devos prezenti la projekton al la estro, do mi prepariĝas zorge.
Pattern 4: Work-related useful phrases
About duties and tasks:
- Mia tasko estas koordini la projekton. — My task is to coordinate the project.
- Mi respondecas pri la klienta komunikado. — I am responsible for client communication.
- Mi laboras en teamo de kvin homoj. — I work in a team of five people.
About working conditions:
- Mi laboras plentемpe / parttемpe. — I work full-time / part-time.
- Mi laboras de la hejmo du tagojn semajne. — I work from home two days a week.
- Mia salajro estas sufiĉa por mia vivimanerо. — My salary is sufficient for my lifestyle.
About colleagues:
- Miaj kolegoj estas tre helpemaj. — My colleagues are very helpful.
- La estro estas postulema sed justa. — The boss is demanding but fair.
- Ni havas bonegan teamon. — We have an excellent team.
Dialogue
Fiona kaj Ren interparolas pri sia labovivo. (Fiona and Ren talk about their work life.)
| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| Fiona: Ren, ĉu vi laboris hodiaŭ? Vi aspektas laca. | Ren, did you work today? You look tired. |
| Ren: Jes, mi havis tre longan tagon. Mi laboras kiel programisto en granda firmao. | Yes, I had a very long day. I work as a programmer in a large company. |
| Fiona: Ĉu vi laboras el oficejo aŭ de la hejmo? | Do you work from the office or from home? |
| Ren: Du tagojn en oficejo, tri tagojn hejme. Hodiaŭ estis oficejtago, do mi devis veturi longe. | Two days in the office, three days at home. Today was an office day, so I had to travel long. |
| Fiona: Kion vi faris en la oficejo? | What did you do in the office? |
| Ren: Unue, mi partoprenis matenaĵkunvenon. Poste mi laboris dum kvar horoj pri nova projekto. Fine, mi prezentis la progreson al mia teamo. | First, I attended a morning meeting. Then I worked for four hours on a new project. Finally, I presented the progress to my team. |
| Fiona: Kaj vi, Fiona? Ĉu vi ankoraŭ laboras kiel instruistino? | And you, Fiona? Are you still working as a teacher? |
| Fiona: Jes, en mezlernejo. Mi instruas Esperanton kaj la francan. Hodiaŭ mi havis ses lecionojn — tre intensa tago. | Yes, in a secondary school. I teach Esperanto and French. Today I had six lessons — very intense day. |
| Ren: Ho! Ĉu vi ĝuas vian laboron? | Oh! Do you enjoy your work? |
| Fiona: Ege! La studеntoj estas tre motivitaj. Morgaŭ mi havos pli trankvilan tagon — nur tri lecionoj. | Very much! The students are very motivated. Tomorrow I will have a calmer day — only three lessons. |
| Ren: Bonŝancon al ambaŭ de ni! | Good luck to both of us! |
Practice
Exercise 1: Profession Match
Match each workplace with the professional who works there, using what you know about -ist- and -ej-.
- lernejo → ___
- kuracistejo → ___
- dentistejo → ___
- kuirejo → ___
- programistejo → ___
Answers: 1.instruisto 2.kuracisto 3.dentisto 4.kuiristo 5.programisto
Exercise 2: Describe Your Day
Write a short paragraph (8–10 sentences) about a real or imagined workday. Include:
- What time you woke up (past)
- What you did in the morning (past)
- What you are doing now (present)
- What you will do tomorrow (future)
- Use at least 3 sequence adverbs (unue, poste, fine)
Exercise 3: Interview Role-Play
Write both parts of a job interview: the interviewer asks 5 questions about the applicant's profession, experience, and plans; the applicant answers. Use past, present, and future tenses appropriately.
Cultural Note
The Esperanto community has a long tradition of professional networks organized by field. There are Esperanto groups for sciencistoj (scientists), kuracistoj (doctors), jurnalistoj (journalists), instruistoj (teachers), and many others. The organization ILEI (Internacia Ligo de Esperantistaj Instruistoj — International League of Esperantist Teachers) has members in dozens of countries and publishes educational materials in Esperanto. For many professionals, Esperanto provides access to international colleagues and publications that would otherwise require mastery of a dominant national language — particularly valuable for speakers whose native language is not English, French, or German.