Son boulot est vraiment difficile.

From Lesson 284:Informal French·French

Questions & Answers about Son boulot est vraiment difficile.

Does son mean "his" or "her" in this sentence?
It could be either! In French, possessive adjectives agree with the noun being owned, not the owner. Because boulot (job) is masculine, you must use son regardless of whether the job belongs to a man or a woman. You have to rely on context to know whose job it is.
What is the difference between boulot and travail?
Boulot is a very common, slightly informal word for "job" or "work," similar to saying "gig" or "work" instead of "employment" in English. Travail is the standard, neutral word. At a B1 level, you will hear and use boulot all the time in casual spoken French!
Could I use dur instead of difficile here?
Yes, you could say Son boulot est vraiment dur. Both mean "hard" or "difficult" and can be used interchangeably here. Dur is slightly more informal and often implies heavy physical or mental endurance, while difficile is standard and can also mean "complex."
How is the word vraiment formed here?
Like many French adverbs, it is formed by taking an adjective—in this case, vrai (true)—and adding the suffix -ment (equivalent to "-ly" in English). While it literally means "truly," it is used exactly like "really" in English to emphasize the adjective.

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