📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 11 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 3 · Le travail et l'argent
Les métiers
Module 7 of the free French course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 11 of 30: Saying what someone does is a B1 staple. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 11.
The words
French
English
Say it
le métier
the trade or profession
luh may-TYAY
l'avocatmasculine — the article elides to l'
the lawyer
lah-voh-KAH
l'ingénieurmasculine — the article elides to l'
the engineer
la(n)-zhay-NYUHR
l'infirmièrefeminine — the article elides to l'
the nurse
la(n)-feer-MYEHR
le comptable
the accountant
luh koh(n)-TAHBL
elle est avocate
she is a lawyer
ehl eh tah-voh-KAHT
le chef
the boss
luh SHEHF
l'entreprisefeminine — the article elides to l'
the company
lah(n)-truh-PREEZ
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Saying what someone does is a B1 staple, and French has one habit English does not: after être, the job takes NO article. Elle est avocate — she is a lawyer. Il est ingénieur — he is an engineer.
Et aussi · And also
Most job names have a feminine form, and modern usage builds it: un avocat / une avocate, un infirmier / une infirmière, un directeur / une directrice. When in doubt, listen for what the person calls themselves.
Attention · Watch out
After être a job takes NO article: elle est avocate. The feminine forms are real and standard: une avocate, une infirmière, une directrice.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with le métier.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 11 in Module 7 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.