Topic: Jobs
Published: 1/12/2023
What do you do?, Where do you work?, What most you like of your job?
These are some questions related to jobs that we are used to hear. Talking about jobs is easy if you know the vocabulary and phrases related to this topic. Also, you can ask other people what they do at their job, share your experience and discuss about how is your dream job like.
Vocabulary bank
Nurse
A person who works in a hospital helping patients when they don't feel good, and they need treatment. They work with doctors and administrate medicaments to patients.
Doctor
It is someone who works at a hospital helping sick people and treating illnesses. These people have a degree in medicine, and they have a wide knowledge of it.
Accountant
A person that works makes accounting functions, administrates, and analyzes the incomes and taxes.
Office worker
These people do mostly administrative work in an office. They work in a desk using a computer administrating documents.
Cashier
Is the person that works with money charging costumers in a store for the products they buy.
Teacher
A person who works with children, teenagers, or adults at school. Teachers plan a class to make their students learn something new.
Police officer
A person who maintain order in the city, arrest criminals and ensures safety of people
Receptionist
The person who greets visitors as they walk into an office or building, or hotel.
Grammar
Simple present
To conjugate the simple present we use the infinitive for the subjects “ I ”, “ you ”, “ we ” and “ they ” and for the third persons “ he ”, “ she ” and “ it ”, we add an “ -s ” to the end of the verb.
|
Subject |
Conjugation |
|---|---|
|
I, you, we, they |
work |
|
he, she, it |
works |
Wh-questions
Wh- questions ask for information and start with question words beginning with wh-, such as which, what, who, whom, whose, when, where, and why, although how is also included in this group.
Forming Wh-questions
To form wh questions in present simple we use ‘wh’ + an auxiliary verb (am/is/are/do/does) + subject + the infinitive:
- Where do you live?
- Who are you?
- How does she dance so well?
Note: In the questions the auxiliary "Do" is used with plural subjects (I, you, we, they) and "Does" with singular subjects (he, she, it).
We do not use an auxiliary verb when "What", "When", "Who", and "Which" is the subject of the question:
- What happens?
- Who knows?
- Which looks better, this or that one?
Adjectives
Placement of adjectives
To be + adjective
- Verb to be: We use this auxiliary to show existence, identity, or state of being.
- Adjective: It is a word that describes a noun. In other words, it tells us more about a particular person, place, thing, or event.
We use the verb "to be" with adjectives to describe a person, thing, idea, or place.
For example: This job is interesting.
Structure
|
Pronoun/Noun + verb to be (am/is/are) + Adjective |
|
|---|---|
|
Firefighters |
are brave |
|
The doctor |
is intelligent |
|
Artists |
are creative |
Note: We do not add –s to the adjective when it is in plural.
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English in use: Listening
In the following exercise, you will listen to six different people talking about what they do in their job. From the description they give, guess what each of them does for a living
Go to exercise practice
English in use: Reading
Read the following text and do the tasks to check your reading comprehension.
My presentation in unusual jobs
Today in my English class, my teacher asked us to give a short presentation on unusual jobs we have heard about. I told my classmates about three very strange careers I recently read about in a magazine!
First, I explained what a dog food tester does. Dog food testers work for pet food companies. Their main job is to evaluate new dog and cat food recipes! They have to write simple reports on what the food smells and tastes like. They say if they think pets will like the food. The company then decides if they will sell that product or not based on the tester’s reviews. My classmates could not believe this was a real job! One classmate said he wanted to become a dog food tester one day.
The next job I presented was a professional line stander. Companies and rich people pay line standers to wait in long lines for them! For example, they wait at airport ticket counters, doctor’s offices, concerts, and store lines for others. The line stander takes the place of the person while they relax or work. Line standers need to be very patient and have the ability to wait for hours. To be less bored, they often play on phones or read books while waiting. My friend Amelia said she wishes she could get paid just to wait around.
Finally, I told my class about volcano observers. Volcano watchers check active volcanoes. They study the volcanoes to try to predict future eruptions using special equipment to study the patterns and activity of volcanoes, to try to predict when an eruption may happen and if lava flow will affect nearby communities. They can warn people living nearby about the danger from lava flows. Some volcano watchers even climb into craters to take measurements! But this job seemed too risky for my classmates.
When I finished my presentation, I said that even though those are three strange careers, they show that you can find interesting jobs to match your personality and interests! My talk made my classmates expand their thinking about jobs they might want to try in the future.
Practice time
If you need more practice, you can find more exercises related to this topic. In the next page you will find a variety of exercises for each skill, grammar and vocabulary.
Go to practice space