Chapter 6: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk 93

Pay attention to two little words that you see over and over again in French: et (ey) (and) and dans (dahN) (in). To use them correctly, remember these rules:

et: Never link et with the next word (in other words, don’t make the liaison, explained in Chapter 3). For example, to say He is handsome and intelligent, say Il est beau et intélligent (ee-leh boh ey aN-tey- lee-zhahN).

dans: Use dans for time and space (location). Notice that it can have slightly different meanings depending on the context. Here are some examples: dans un mois (dahN-zuhN mwah) (in a month) and dans l’avion (dahN lah-vyohN) (on/in the plane).

Words to Know

Stating Your Preferences

One of the ways in which you get to know someone or they get to know you is by expressing likes and dislikes. When you say in French that you like

to travel, that you hate waiting in line, or even that you love a certain film, you use verbs of preference. These verbs include

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aimer (eh-mey) (to like, to love)

aimer mieux (eh-mey myuh) (to like better, to prefer)

adorer (ah-doh-rey) (to adore)

préférer (prey-fey-rey) (to prefer)

détester (dey-teh-stey) (to hate)

Aimer, adorer, and détester are all regular –er verbs; go to Chapter 2 for information on conjugating regular verbs. The verb préférer, however, has a stem change: The accent on the second e changes from an aigu (é) to a grave (è), except for the nous and vous forms. Check out the conjugation of préférer:

To say that you like or hate something in French, you use the definite article the — le (luh), la (lah), and les (ley) — even though the article may not be necessary in English. Check out these examples:

J’aime le café au lait. (zhehm luh kah-fey oh leh.) (I like coffee with milk.)

Nous préférons les films étrangers. (nooh prey-fey-rohN ley feelm ey-trahN-zhey.) (We prefer foreign films.)

Ils détestent le bruit. (eel dey-tehst luh brwee.) (They hate noise.)

Talking about Your Livelihood

In French, when you state your profession, you just say Je suis. . .

(zhuh swee) (I am. . .) and then name the profession. For example, Je suis professeur (zhuh swee proh-feh-suhr) means I am a teacher, professor. To identify someone else’s profession, use the construc-

tion Il/Elle est. . . (eel/ehl eh) (He/She is. . .). Il est ingénieur (ee-leh- tahN-zhey-nyuhr), for example, means He is an engineer. Notice that in these constructions, you don’t use the article un (uhN) (a, an), as you do in English (I am a teacher, for example, or he is an engineer).

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Chapter 6: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk 95

You use the same construction to describe yourself or someone else: Je suis optimiste (zhuh swee-zohp-tee-meest) (I am optimistic), for example, or Il est intelligent (ee-leh-taN-teh-lee-zhahN) (He is intelligent).

Although not exhaustive by any means, this list includes many common occupations.

professeur (proh-feh-suhr) (high school teacher, college professor)

informaticien/informaticienne (aN-fohr-mah-tee-syaN/aN-fohr-mah- tee-syehn) (computer scientist)

secrétaire (suh-krey-tehr) (secretary)

médecin (meyd-saN) (physician)

infirmier/infirmière (aN-feer-myey/aN-feer-myehr) (nurse)

avocat/avocate (ah-voh-kah/ah-voh-kaht) (lawyer)

ingénieur (aN-zhey-nyuhr) (engineer)

serveur/serveuse (sehr-vuhr/sehr-vuhz) (waiter/waitress)

dentiste (dahN-teest) (dentist)

retraité/retraitée (ruh-treh-tey) (retired)

homme d’affaires/femme d’affaires (ohhm dah-fehr/fahm dah-fehr) (business man/business woman)

architecte (ahr-shee-tehkt) (architect)

PDG (pey dey zhey) (CEO [Note: This acronym stands for Président Directeur Général])

Notice that some professions have only one form for the masculine and the feminine. As a rule, nouns and adjectives that end with an e, for example — dentiste — are the same regardless of gender. (Check out Chapter 2 for more on the transformation of nouns and adjectives.) Some professions on the preceding list do not have a feminine form because the gender designation is a remnant of the (sexist) days when certain professions were mostly filled by men, which is no longer the case in the 21st century.

The following are some useful job-related expressions:

Quel est votre métier? (kehl eh vohh-truh mey-tyey?) (What is your profession?)

Qu’est-ce que vous faites dans la vie? (kehs-kuh vooh feht dahN lah vee?) (What do you do for a living?)

Pour quelle entreprise/compagnie travaillez-vous? (poohr kehl ahN- truh-preez/kohN-pah-nyee trah-vah-yey-vooh?) (What company do you work for?)

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Voyagez-vous souvent pour votre travail? (voh-yah-zhey-vooh sooh-vahN poohr vohh-truh trah-vahy?) (Do you travel often for your job/work?)

Votre métier est intéressant. (vohh-truh mey-tyey eh-taN-tey-reh-sahN.) (Your profession is interesting.)

Talkin’ the Talk

On the flight to Nice, newly acquainted Amanda and Patrick talk about work.

Amanda: Où travaillez-vous? ooh trah-vah-yey-vooh?

Where do you work?

Patrick: Mon bureau est à Paris, mais je vais souvent à Nice en voyage d’affaires.

mohN bew-roh eh-tah pah-ree, meh zhuh veh soohvahN ah nees ahN voh-yahzh dah-fehr.

My office is in Paris, but I often go to Nice on business trips.

Amanda: Quel est votre métier?

kehl eh vohh-truh mey-tyey? What is your profession?

Patrick: Je suis informaticien. Je travaille pour une compagnie d’informatique.

zhuh swee-zaN-fohr-mah-tee-syaN. zhuh trah-vahy pooh-rewn kohN-pah-nyee daN-fohr-mah-teek.

I am a computer scientist. I work for a computer science company.

Amanda: C’est une grande compagnie? seh-tewn grahNd kohN-pah-nyee?

Is it a large company?

Patrick: Non, elle est très petite. Il y a seulement dix employés.

nohN, ehl eh treh puh-teet. eel ee ah suhl-mahN dee-zahN-plwah-yey.

No, it is very small. There are only ten employees.

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