1

I started learning French (A1 French learner) and I am confused with forming questions in French. For example I want to ask what is your profession?

Quelle est ton/votre profession?

I know that because profession is feminine we use quelle. Are we using ton/votre to show the possession of whom we are talking to the profession? Is this correct:

Quelle profession est tu?

If it's not correct, why can we say quel age as tu? Question word+ age+ avoir verb + subject? and not apply the same structure when asking about some ones profession?

1 Answer 1

1

Quelle est votre profession ? is fine when you use vous with the person you talk to but otherwise, that should be Quelle est ta profession ? profession being a feminine word.

Unlike English, possessive adjectives must agree not only with the person possessing (my, your, his/her, our, your, their) but also with the thing being possessed (mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs).

Quelle profession est tu ? is odd, you wouldn't ask that to a person but rather to a profession (What profession are you?) You would say instead Quelle profession exerces-tu ?

Note that in actual conversation, you are more likely to hear questions like Tu fais quoi dans la vie ? or Vous faites quoi comme métier ?

We can ask Quel age as-tu ? because you kind of "own" an age (literally: What age have you?) this is not the same sentence as "How old are you?" which would be literally "Combien vieux est-tu ?" (not idiomatic)

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.