to work ahead
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to work ahead
To do work in advance in order to have less to do later or to be able to take time off.
Ich muss heute Abend vorarbeiten, weil ich morgen früher gehen will.
I have to work ahead tonight because I want to leave earlier tomorrow.
to work one's way forward
To move forward slowly through effort, whether physically through an obstacle or figuratively in a hierarchy or career.
Er hat sich vom einfachen Angestellten bis zum Abteilungsleiter vorgearbeitet.
He worked his way up from a regular employee to department head.
to prepare work for someone
To do preparatory tasks for another person in order to make their actual work easier or possible.
Der Assistent hat dem Professor für die Recherche vorgearbeitet.
The assistant did preparatory work for the professor for the research.
'vorarbeiten' (to work ahead) is a separable verb. In a main clause, the prefix 'vor' goes at the end. In a subordinate clause, the verb stays together, and in the infinitive with 'zu', 'zu' goes in the middle.
Ich arbeite heute eine Stunde vor.
I'm working one hour ahead today.
The verb is made up of the prefix 'vor-' and the verb 'arbeiten' (to work). The prefix 'vor' here has the meaning of 'in advance' or 'forward', which explains the different meanings of the verb.
Wenn du jetzt vorarbeitest, hast du am Wochenende frei.
If you work ahead now, you'll have the weekend off.
In the meaning of 'sich nach vorne bewegen' (to move forward) or 'Karriere machen' (to make a career), the verb is used reflexively with 'sich' in the accusative. The direction is often indicated with prepositions such as 'bis zu' (up to) or 'durch' (through).
Sie hat sich in der Firma bis zur Managerin vorgearbeitet.
She worked her way up in the company to manager.
When you do preparatory work for someone else, that person is put in the dative. The structure is: 'jemandem vorarbeiten' (to do preparatory work for someone).
Die Praktikantin arbeitet der Projektleiterin für die Präsentation vor.
The intern is doing preparatory work for the project manager for the presentation.
to prepare
Vorbereiten broadly includes planning and creating the necessary conditions for a task. Vorarbeiten means completing a specific part of the work in advance. When the initial conditions are being created, vorbereiten is the right choice; for parts completed ahead of time, vorarbeiten is appropriate.
Lea arbeitet für den Bericht vor, indem sie schon heute den ersten Abschnitt schreibt.
Lea is working ahead on the report by writing the first section today.
Lea bereitet den Bericht vor, indem sie alle nötigen Unterlagen sammelt.
Lea is preparing the report by gathering all the necessary documents.
