How to Talk About Your Occupation

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your occupation in French.

For example, "I’m an investor." is

Je suis investisseur.

Two passengers, Constance Collin and Hugues Henry , are seated next to each other on a plane to Paris.

Before you hear their conversation, let's learn some of its key components.

étudiant

"student"

étudiant

investisseur

"investor"

investisseur

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Hugues 's response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use formal French.

Ready?

Êtes-vous étudiant ?

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

Once more with the English translation.

Êtes-vous étudiant ?

"Are you a student?"

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Constance asks,

"Are you a student?"

Êtes-vous étudiant ?

First is Êtes, "are" as in "are you." Êtes. Êtes.

Êtes is from the verb, être, meaning "to be." Être.

After this is vous, the plural form of "you," as in "you all." But here it's the formal way to address a single person. Vous. Vous.

Together, Êtes-vous, "are you" when addressing a single person. Êtes-vous.

Last is the word, étudiant, "student." Étudiant. Étudiant.

In French, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Étudiant is masculine singular.

All together, it’s Êtes-vous étudiant ? "Are you a student ?"

Êtes-vous étudiant?

Now, let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Hugues says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

First is non, "no." Non. Non.

It answers Constance's yes-or-no question, "Are you a student?" Êtes-vous étudiant?

After this, Hugues specifies that he’s not a student. Je ne suis pas étudiant. "I'm not a student." Je ne suis pas étudiant.

First is je, "I." Je. Je.

After this is ne suis pas, meaning "am not." Ne suis pas.

Let’s start with suis, meaning "am," as in "I am." Suis. Suis.

Suis is from the verb, être, meaning "to be." Être.

Before the verb is ne. Ne. Ne.

After the verb is pas. Pas. Pas.

Together, ne...pas means "not." Ne...pas.

All together, it's je ne suis pas, "I am not." Je ne suis pas.

Next is étudiant. "Student." Étudiant.

All together, Je ne suis pas étudiant. "I'm not a student." Je ne suis pas étudiant.

Hugues then tells Constance his actual occupation. Je suis investisseur. "I'm an investor." Je suis investisseur.

First is je, "I." Je.

Next is suis, "am," as in "I am." Suis.

Last is investisseur, "investor." Investisseur. Investisseur.

The word investisseur is a masculine singular noun.

Together, Je suis investisseur. "I'm an investor." Je suis investisseur.

All together, Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

The pattern is

Non, je ne suis pas OCCUPATION. Je suis ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Non, je ne suis pas OCCUPATION. Je suis ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

Imagine you’re Emma Auge , a student. The word for a female "student" is étudiante. Étudiante. Étudiante.

Hugues asks you if you’re a teacher. The word for a female "teacher" is professeure. professeure. professeure.

Say

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Ready?

Non, je ne suis pas professeure. Je suis étudiante.

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Non, je ne suis pas professeure. Je suis étudiante.

Again, the key pattern is

Non, je ne suis pas OCCUPATION. Je suis ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Non, je ne suis pas OCCUPATION. Je suis ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

Non, je ne suis pas professeure. Je suis étudiante.

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Non, je ne suis pas professeure. Je suis étudiante.

Non, je ne suis pas médecin. Je suis scientifique.

"I'm not a doctor. I'm a scientist."

Non, je ne suis pas médecin. Je suis scientifique.

Non, je ne suis pas infirmière. Je suis médecin.

"I'm not a nurse. I'm a doctor."

Non, je ne suis pas infirmière. Je suis médecin.

Non, je ne suis pas étudiante. Je suis professeure.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm a teacher."

Non, je ne suis pas étudiante. Je suis professeure.

Non, je suis barista.

"No, I'm a barista."

Non, je suis barista.

Did you notice how the last speaker omits part of the response?

Non, je suis barista. No, I’m a barista. Non, je suis barista.

When directly responding to someone's question, it’s often possible to omit part of the response.

Here by simply answering Non, "no," there’s no need to say je ne suis pas étudiant, "I’m not a student."

This pattern is

Non, je suis ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we'll use the pattern

Non, je ne suis pas OCCUPATION. Je suis ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Let's review the key vocabulary.

In French, occupation terms can vary based on gender. In these cases, we provide the masculine word for the occupation followed by the feminine one.

"student"

Étudiant. Étudiant.

Étudiante. Étudiante.

"teacher"

Professeur. Professeur.

Professeure. Professeure.

"Engineer."

Ingénieur. Ingénieur.

Ingénieure. Ingénieure.

"Nurse."

Infirmier.. Infirmier.

Infirmière.. Infirmière.

"Doctor."

Médecin. Médecin. Médecin.

"Barista."

Barista. Barista. Barista.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember the word for a male "investor?"

Investisseur.

And how to say "I?"

Je.

Do you remember how Hugues says,

"I'm an investor."

Je suis investisseur.

Do you remember the word for a male "student?"

étudiant.

étudiant

Do you remember how Hugues says,

"I'm not a student."

Je ne suis pas étudiant.

And how to say "no?"

Non.

Do you remember how Hugues Henry says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. Je suis investisseur.

Do you remember the formal way to say "you?"

Vous.

Do you remember how Constance Collin asks,

"Are you a student?"

Remember Constance uses formal French.

Êtes-vous étudiant?

Do you remember the word for a female "student?"

étudiante.

And the word for a male "teacher?"

professeur.

Do you remember the word for a female teacher?

Professeure.

Do you remember the word for a female "scientist?"

scientifique.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Emma Auge, and you're a student.

Ready?

Êtes-vous professeure ?

Non, je ne suis pas professeure. Je suis étudiante.

Listen again and repeat.

Non, je ne suis pas professeure. Je suis étudiante.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Lya and you’re a teacher.

Ready?

Êtes-vous étudiante ?

Non, je ne suis pas étudiante. Je suis professeure.

Listen again and repeat.

Non, je ne suis pas étudiante. Je suis professeure.

Let’s try one more.

Now, imagine you're Constance Collin, and you're a scientist, or scientifique in French.

Respond to Hugues's question.

Ready?

Êtes-vous professeure ?

Non, je suis scientifique.

Listen again and repeat.

Non, je suis scientifique.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your occupation in French. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Constance Collin says,

"My name is Constance."

Je m'appelle Constance.

And do you remember how Constance says

"My name is Constance. Nice to meet you."

Je m'appelle Constance. Enchantée !

And how to say "come?"

viens

Do you remember how Constance says,

"I'm from Miami."

Je viens de Miami.

Do you remember how to say "from where?"

d’où

And the formal word for "you?"

vous

And do you remember how Hugues Henry asks,

"Where are you from?"

D’où venez-vous ?

Do you remember how to say "American" when referring to a woman?

américaine

And do you remember how Constance Collin says

"I'm American?"

Je suis américaine.

Do you remember how Hugues Henry asks,

"Are you American?"

Êtes-vous américaine ?

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London.

Do you remember how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in French?

Jack Jones

Respond to Hugues Henry 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Hugues. Enchanté.

Je m'appelle Jack. Enchanté.

Listen again, and repeat.

Je m'appelle Jack. Enchanté.

Do you remember how to say "London" in French?

Londres

Now respond that you’re from London.

D'où venez-vous ?

Je viens de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Je viens de Londres.

And do you remember how to say "English" as in an English person in French?

anglais

Now respond that you’re English.

Êtes-vous anglais ?

Oui, je suis anglais.

Listen again and repeat.

Oui, je suis anglais.

Now, do you remember how to say "student" in French?

Étudiant

Respond that you're a student.

Êtes-vous professeur ?

Non, je ne suis pas professeur. Je suis étudiant.

Listen again and repeat.

Non, je ne suis pas professeur. Je suis étudiant.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Introduce Yourself unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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