Talking about work in Spanish: 12 phrases for the meeting after the meeting
The vocabulary that keeps a project honest: deadlines, ownership, workload and the polite objection. B1, no word-type grouping — just the twelve phrases worth having ready.
Reviewed by Kirill Oleinichenko on September 18, 2026 · checklist v1
Work Spanish has a different centre of gravity from café Spanish. The grammar gets simpler — the present, the preterite and one good connector carry most of it — and the risk moves to tone. Saying «no puedo» is easy; saying «puedo, pero necesita otro plazo» is what keeps a project from quietly going wrong.
This set collects the twelve phrases that come up whichever side of the standup you are on. Some of them name things: the deadline, the workload, the colleague. A few carry responsibility — encargarse de algo, llevar a cabo. Two of them are the soft edges of a team: posponer instead of cancelar, sin embargo instead of no.
There is no word-type grouping on this page on purpose. At B1 the useful distinction is no longer between a noun and a verb; it is between a phrase you can say in the meeting and a phrase you can say after it. Read the list once, then reach for the practice sample.
One more habit makes the set stick: decide before the meeting which phrase you are going to use, and use it once. A phrase you have said out loud in a real call stops being vocabulary and becomes a reflex; the rest of the list waits its turn.
Vocabulary
- Vocabulary
la reunión
the meeting
La reunión se ha alargado media hora. — The meeting ran half an hour over.
«Reunión» takes an accent on the ó in the singular and loses it in the plural: reuniones.
- Vocabulary
el plazo
the deadline
El plazo para enviar el informe vence el viernes. — The deadline to send the report is Friday.
«El plazo vence» — deadlines expire; «cumplir el plazo» is to meet one.
- Vocabulary
encargarse de algo
to take charge of something
Me encargo yo de hablar con el cliente. — I'll take care of talking to the client.
Reflexive: «me encargo», «te encargas». It promises ownership, not just participation.
- Vocabulary
el equipo
the team
El equipo está en remoto los viernes. — The team is remote on Fridays.
In Latin America you will also hear «el team», but «equipo» is understood everywhere.
- Vocabulary
la carga de trabajo
the workload
Esta semana la carga de trabajo es insostenible. — This week the workload is unsustainable.
Handy in a one-on-one: «¿cómo llevas la carga de trabajo?» — how are you handling the workload?
- Vocabulary
posponer
to postpone
Podemos posponer la llamada a mañana. — We can postpone the call to tomorrow.
Irregular participle: pospuesto. Softer than «cancelar» — you can still say no.
- Vocabulary
el compañero, la compañera
the colleague
Mi compañera lleva el proyecto de Valencia. — My colleague runs the Valencia project.
«Compañero» covers classmates and teammates too; «colega» is a bit more formal.
- Vocabulary
llevar a cabo
to carry out
Llevamos a cabo la migración en dos fases. — We carried out the migration in two phases.
Fixed pair — «llevar a cabo» never changes the second word. Register: written status updates.
- Vocabulary
la herramienta
the tool
Necesitamos una herramienta mejor para las notas. — We need a better tool for notes.
«Herramienta» is the physical kind too — context decides; software is usually «la herramienta» or «la app».
- Vocabulary
tener en cuenta
to keep in mind
Ten en cuenta que el cliente trabaja en otro huso horario. — Keep in mind that the client works in another time zone.
Imperative is irregular: «ten». In meetings you will hear «teniendo en cuenta…» as a connector.
- Vocabulary
el ascenso
the promotion
Le dieron el ascenso después de dos años. — They gave him the promotion after two years.
The verb is «ascender»; «subir de puesto» is the informal version.
- Vocabulary
sin embargo
however
El plan es bueno; sin embargo, falta presupuesto. — The plan is good; however, the budget is missing.
Introduces the objection and survives a pause — «sin embargo» is what you say before disagreeing politely.
Built from: Kardo editorial team (calibration set, 2026-09)
Practice sample
Try one card from this deck.
Card 1 of 12
la reunión
the meeting
La reunión se ha alargado media hora. — The meeting ran half an hour over.
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