Silly question!!!!

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ESL forum > Ask for help > Silly question!!!!

Silly question!!!!

guizmow

Silly question!!!!

Hi teachers!!!!

I �ve got a silly question, but I doubt I �ve got the correct answer, so I think you could easily help me :

When you want to know about Mr and Mrs Brown �s jobs, for example :

will you ask :

what �s their job(s)?

what are their job?

I �m ashamed, this really sound like a beginner question but...

Thanks in advance!!

2 Sep 2010

perma

"what �s their job" means that you already know that they work together (they do the same job) but you don �t know what exactly this job is.

"what are their job" is incorrect.

"what are their jobs" is grammatically correct but I �m not sure if it would come up in a conversation. I think the best option would be "what do they do?"

2 Sep 2010

colibrita

You can also ask "what do they do?" or "what do they do for a living?"

2 Sep 2010

portugueseteacher

I agree with perma and colibrita.

What are their jobs sounds more correct grammatically but you can ask "what do they do?" or what do they do for a living?".

"What are Mr and Mrs Brown �s jobs?" is another possibility.

Have a nice day!

2 Sep 2010

adriennesmiles

These are good, but I would probably ask, Where do Mr and Mrs Brown work? and if the answer was not obvious for their job I would follow it up with: What are their jobs at that place?

Eg. If I asked: Where do Mr and Mrs Brown work?

and the answer is: At a school.

I would be safe to think they are teachers.

However if the answer was: In an office.

I would then ask what are their jobs in the office?

and the answer would then state a more specific type...filing, reception work, or whatever else.

These are my thoughts, hope they are helpful :)

2 Sep 2010

douglas

I would ask the same as Colibrita would.

2 Sep 2010

Adel A

for me job is a countable noun so I can ask What is their job ? if i know that they have the same job but i don �t know what it is

I can say what are their jobs? if they have two different jobs but i don �t know what they are.

2 Sep 2010

manuelanunes3

What are their jobs? or

What are their occupations? - seems correct but I would ask:

What do they do for a living?

2 Sep 2010

guizmow

Thanks a lot!! I also thought of What do they do for a living but since my pupils are young learners and already know �what �s his job? what �s her job? I didn �t want them to feel �lost �.

Thanks again!!!!!!!!!

Have a nice day

3 Sep 2010