Log inSign up

Le chef demande si nous engageons ce profil.

Le chef demande si nous engageons ce profil.
The boss asks if we are hiring this profile.
From Lesson 178:Reported yes or no questions (il demande si)·French

Questions & Answers about Le chef demande si nous engageons ce profil.

Why is si used in this sentence instead of a question phrase like est-ce que?
Because this is an indirect yes/no question. If the boss asked this directly, he would say "Est-ce que nous engageons ce profil ?" When you report a yes/no question to someone else, you drop the est-ce que (or the inversion) and use si (if/whether) to connect the two parts of the sentence.
Why is there an 'e' before the 'o' in engageons?
For French verbs ending in -ger like engager (to hire), you must keep the 'e' before endings that start with 'o' or 'a'. This forces the 'g' to keep its soft sound. Without that e, the 'g' would sound hard like the 'g' in "go".
Does ce profil just mean a social media profile here?
Not exactly. In French business and HR contexts, un profil is frequently used to refer to a "candidate" or an "applicant" who has a specific set of skills. The boss is essentially asking if the company is going to hire this applicant.
Why does engageons stay in the present tense here?
When the reporting verb (here, demande) is in the present tense, the verb in the reported speech (here, engageons) does not change its tense. It stays exactly as it was in the original direct question. You only need to shift tenses backward if the reporting verb is in the past.

Learn Le chef demande si nous engageons ce profil and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →