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Spanish (Spain)

### What do you do?

The everyday way to ask about someone's job is **¿A qué te dedicas?**, from the reflexive verb **dedicarse a** (to do something for a living). Answer with **me dedico a** + a field, or simply with **ser** + the profession.

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### No article after ser

English says *I'm **a** nurse*. Spanish says the profession with **no article** after **ser**:

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With an article the noun is a specific person, as the subject of a sentence:

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### Masculine and feminine

Most professions follow the **-o / -a** pattern. Nouns in **-ista** and **-ante** are the same for a man and a woman — only the article changes. **Actor** and **actriz** are two different words.

| man | woman |
|---|---|
| el enfermero | la enfermera |
| el abogado | la abogada |
| el ingeniero | la ingeniera |
| el camarero | la camarera |
| el bombero | la bombera |
| el director | la directora |
| el taxista | **la taxista** |
| el cantante | **la cantante** |
| el actor | **la actriz** |

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### Out of work

In Spain, someone without a job **está en el paro** (is unemployed). **El paro** is unemployment — and also the benefit an unemployed person receives.

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What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Question	Answer
the profession	la profesión
What is your profession?	¿Cuál es tu profesión?
It is a very beautiful profession.	Es una profesión muy bonita.
to do for a living	dedicarse
What do you do for a living?	¿A qué te dedicas?
I work in the theatre.	Me dedico al teatro.
What does your father do for a living?	¿A qué se dedica tu padre?
the nurse	el enfermero
My mother is a nurse.	Mi madre es enfermera.
The nurse works in the hospital.	El enfermero trabaja en el hospital.
He isn't a doctor, he's a nurse.	No es médico, es enfermero.
the lawyer	el abogado
My brother is a lawyer.	Mi hermano es abogado.
The lawyer works in the centre.	La abogada trabaja en el centro.
the engineer	el ingeniero
My sister is an engineer.	Mi hermana es ingeniera.
The engineers work a lot.	Los ingenieros trabajan mucho.
the firefighter	el bombero
The firefighter is very strong.	El bombero es muy fuerte.
The firefighter helps the boy.	El bombero ayuda al niño.
the waiter	el camarero
The waiter works in a restaurant.	El camarero trabaja en un restaurante.
She is a waitress at the hotel.	Ella es camarera en el hotel.
the taxi driver	el taxista
The taxi driver knows the city.	El taxista conoce la ciudad.
My father is a taxi driver.	Mi padre es taxista.
the singer	el cantante
The singer is English.	El cantante es inglés.
My daughter wants to be a singer.	Mi hija quiere ser cantante.
the actor	el actor
The actor is Spanish.	El actor es español.
My son wants to be an actor.	Mi hijo quiere ser actor.
the actress	la actriz
The actress works in the theatre.	La actriz trabaja en el teatro.
The actress is tall and nice.	La actriz es alta y simpática.
the director / the head teacher	el director
The director of the hospital is young.	El director del hospital es joven.
The head teacher of the school is very nice.	La directora de la escuela es muy simpática.
the dole (unemployment)	el paro
My neighbour is unemployed.	Mi vecino está en el paro.
They don't have a job, they are unemployed.	Ellos no tienen trabajo, están en el paro.

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