Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.

I talk about my job with my friends.

Breakdown of Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.

• je: I
• mon: my
• l'ami: the friend
• avec: with
• parler: to talk
• de: about
• mes: my
• le métier: the job

Questions & Answers about Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.

Why is it parle de and not something like parle sur for “talk about”?

In French, when you say you are talking about a topic, you almost always use parler de:

• Je parle de mon métier. = I talk about my job.

The preposition de introduces the subject of conversation.
Parler sur exists but is rare and usually means something like “to speak on (a theme)” in a more formal or academic way, e.g. a conference:

• Il a parlé sur la pollution. = He gave a talk on pollution. (formal, specific context)

For everyday “talk about”, use parler de, not parler sur.

Why is it mon métier and not ma métier?

French nouns have grammatical gender. Métier is a masculine noun:

• un métier (a job, a trade, a profession)

Because it’s masculine and singular, you must use the masculine singular possessive:

• mon métier = my job

If it were a feminine noun (e.g. la profession), you’d use ma:

• ma profession = my profession

So the choice mon / ma / mes depends on the noun’s gender and number, not on the person who owns it.

What exactly does métier mean? How is it different from travail or job?

Métier usually means your trade, profession, or line of work, often implying some training or specialization:

• Je parle de mon métier. = I talk about my profession / trade / job.

Nuances:

• métier: your profession or trade (teacher, plumber, lawyer, carpenter, etc.).
• travail: work in a more general sense (work as an activity, effort, job, workload).
  • J’ai beaucoup de travail. = I have a lot of work.
• job (loan word in French): often casual, part-time, or informal work; more colloquial.

In many situations, métier and travail can both translate as job in English, but métier focuses more on the type of profession you have.

Could I also say Je parle avec mes amis de mon métier? Is that different?

Yes, Je parle avec mes amis de mon métier is also correct and natural.

• Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.
• Je parle avec mes amis de mon métier.

Both mean the same thing: I talk about my job with my friends.

The difference is just emphasis and rhythm:

• Putting de mon métier right after parle slightly emphasizes the topic.
• Putting avec mes amis right after parle slightly emphasizes who you’re talking with.

In everyday speech, both word orders are used.

What’s the difference between parler à quelqu’un and parler avec quelqu’un?

Both are common, but they feel slightly different:

• parler à quelqu’un = to talk to someone (one-way or general direction of speech)
  • Je parle à mes amis. = I talk to my friends.
• parler avec quelqu’un = to talk with someone (more two-way, like a conversation)
  • Je parle avec mes amis. = I talk with my friends.

In practice, both are often interchangeable, but avec highlights the idea of a mutual conversation a bit more.

Why do we need de after parle? Why not just Je parle mon métier?

In French, parler behaves differently from English “to talk” / “to speak”:

• When talking about the topic, you must use parler de:
  • Je parle de mon métier. = I talk about my job.
• Parler without de is only directly followed by a language:
  • Je parle français. = I speak French.
  • Elle parle anglais. = She speaks English.

So Je parle mon métier is incorrect. You must say Je parle de mon métier to introduce the topic.

When can I use parler without any preposition?

You can use parler without a preposition mainly in these cases:

1. With a language:

   • Je parle français. = I speak French.
   • Ils parlent espagnol. = They speak Spanish.

2. In some fixed expressions:

   • Il parle bien. = He speaks well.
   • Parle plus fort ! = Speak louder!

But when you mention:

• the person you are talking to: usually parler à / avec
• the topic you are talking about: parler de

So in the sentence Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis, both the topic (de mon métier) and the people (avec mes amis) need prepositions.

Why is it mes amis and not les amis or something else?

Mes means my (plural), and amis means friends:

• mes amis = my friends

If you said les amis, that would mean the friends, not necessarily belonging to you:

• Je parle de mon métier avec les amis.
  Sounds like “with the friends” in some shared context, but it’s less clear whose friends they are.

In the original sentence, the idea is clearly “with my friends”, so mes amis is the natural choice.

Is amis masculine or feminine? How would it change if they were only female friends?

Ami (friend) is masculine; amie is feminine.

Plural forms:

• amis = friends (all male or mixed group, or gender unspecified)
• amies = friends (all female)

Possessives:

• mes amis = my (male/mixed) friends, or generic “my friends”
• mes amies = my female friends

So if you only have female friends in mind, you can say:

• Je parle de mon métier avec mes amies.

Can I omit je like in Spanish sometimes, or is the subject pronoun always needed?

In French, the subject pronoun (like je, tu, il, etc.) is almost always required:

• Je parle de mon métier. ✅
• Parle de mon métier. ❌ (this is an imperative, “Talk about my job,” not “I talk about my job”)

French verb endings are not distinct enough in speech to reliably identify the subject without the pronoun, so you must keep the subject pronoun in normal sentences.

What kind of present tense is je parle? Does it mean “I talk” or “I am talking”?

French present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous:

• Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.
  • I talk about my job with my friends. (habitually)
  • I am talking about my job with my friends. (right now)

If you really want to emphasize “right now, at this very moment”, you can add en ce moment or là, maintenant:

• En ce moment, je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.
  = Right now, I am talking about my job with my friends.

Is there any important pronunciation detail in avec mes amis?

Yes, there is a common liaison between mes and amis:

• avec mes amis is pronounced approximately: avèk mez ami
  You link the s of mes to the a of amis: mes‿amis.

Individual words:

• avec: /avɛk/
• mes: /me/
• amis: /ami/ (but you hear /z/ from the liaison: mes‿amis → /mezami/)

Making this liaison helps your French sound more natural.

Can I replace métier with profession or travail here?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly:

• Je parle de mon métier avec mes amis.
  • Neutral, very common: I talk about my job / profession with my friends.
• Je parle de ma profession avec mes amis.
  • A bit more formal: I talk about my profession with my friends.
• Je parle de mon travail avec mes amis.
  • More about “my work” in general; could mean job, workload, what I do at work.

All three are grammatically correct; métier is a very natural choice when you mean your profession or trade.