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ESL forum >
Message board > grammar question
grammar question
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cananaydin
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grammar question
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there are some people and they have different professions. How do we ask? What �s their profession? or What are their professions??? |
5 Nov 2012
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sugarpasa
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I would go with "What are their profession?" |
5 Nov 2012
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Minka
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I think "What do they do?" is the most coomon way to ask about it, although I � m not sure that "What are their jobs/professions/occupations?" is really wrong. It �s more often asked in singular than in plural: What �s your/his/her occupation?" "What are their profession?" is grammatically incorrect (professions). |
5 Nov 2012
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yanogator
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Yes, "What do they do?" is the most common. "What are their professions?" is definitely correct. Since they have different professions, it must be plural. Bruce |
5 Nov 2012
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Minka
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With such expressions, I always wonder if they sound natural to native speakers. I feel "what �s your occupation?" must be rather formal. (Is it?)
What about "What �s your profession?"
"What �s your job? " - This one could also refer to the task you are supposed to do within a project or maybe a group of people etc., right? For example, in our family my mum irons the clothes, my sister cleans the kitchen, my dad does the cooking. My job is to make the beds and do the hoovering from time to time.
I �m hoping for another reply from a native speaker, thanks in advance,
Minka
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5 Nov 2012
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annabelle1654
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I would agree with "What do you do?" stressing the "you" in a small talk situation. It is possible that someone has more that one profession, but I consider that rare, that would be like a brain surgeon whose a plumber. Usually people go to school and learn one profession. So I would ask, if I did not know or I wanted to do a little small talk, "What is your profession?"Which sounds more natural than the plural form. If you know the person has more than one profession, then there is no need for the question, but I wouldn �t assume that someone had more that one profession. I would think a profession and perhaps a job, or hobby, or yes it is possible to have another profession but I think this situation is rare. Perhaps they did a double major at University in Plumbing and Brain Surgery. Otherwise, it could be they went back to school which is not uncommon and changed there profession. But all this would be revealed if you simply ask "What do you do?" or "What is your profession?"Kind regards,Bells |
5 Nov 2012
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Minka
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I don �t think it was about people with more than one profession, but about several people with one profession each.
"What do you do?" is still the most natural way to ask about it, I guess. No particular stress needed. |
5 Nov 2012
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