Jisho

I would resist the urge to think of things in terms of "need" when thinking about sentences in another language.

Which one was the "original" and which one was the translation?

If the Japanese sentence came first, there's no reason to assume it "has" to be the way it is. You could express the same core idea in a multitude of ways. But I get the impression this might have come from a beginner's resource, and that may have influenced how they wanted to phrase it.

Sorry--this was my fault.

I study using sentences from my learning materials, and your answer prompted me to track down the origin of this sentence. It came from Genki, Lesson 12. In transcribing it, however, I left out a short phrase. The original sentence was 牛を使って、畑で働いています。 This explains the second verb. The English translation came from Google Translate, probably because I couldn't figure the sentence out when I added it to my flashcards. I am now on Lesson 18 of Genki, and I am often able to find mistakes in the sentences I have transcribed onto flashcards, but this one stumped me because I couldn't readily find where it came from.

Leebo, you have answered several of my questions over the past few months, and I want you to know that I really appreciate your help. I am teaching myself Japanese without a class or a teacher as a means of keeping my mind sharp (I'm in my seventies), and Jisho is where I come when I just can't figure something out on my own with the materials I have. Your answers have been very thoughtful and helpful, and I want you to know how very grateful I am for your help. Keep up the good work. I am sure there are many others here who appreciate your help as much as I do.

Wow. You're an inspiration! 頑張って下さい！

私は牛と働く