Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 36
Кем вы работаете?What do you work as?
Talking about work and professions. Words: работать, профессия, врач, учитель, инженер, медсестра, продавец, водитель, офис, зарплата. Key grammar: «работать + instrumental case» for a profession — «Я работаю врачом» (I work as a doctor). It is the very same instrumental case as in chapter 28 (зимой = in winter) and chapter 33 (автобусом = by bus), but with a new role: what you work as. Masculine adds «-ом/-ем»: врач → врачом, учитель → учителем; feminine «-а» → «-ой»: медсестра → медсестрой. The question: «Кем вы работаете?» («кем» is the instrumental of «кто»). English speakers’ mistake: "work as a doctor" does not change the word, so they say «Я работаю врач» ✗ → correct is «Я работаю врачом» ✓. Reading: the endings «-ом / -ем» and the letter «ц».
Dialogue
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Кем ты работаешь?— What do you work as?
- ivan
- mike
- ivan
- mike
- ivan
- mike
Dialogue
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Профессии в семье— Professions in the family
- anya
- ivan
- anya
- ivan
- anya
- ivan
Vocabulary
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- работать
verbto work
- профессия
nounprofession
- врач
noundoctor
- учитель
nounteacher
- инженер
nounengineer
- медсестра
nounnurse
- продавец
nounsalesperson, shop assistant
- водитель
noundriver
- офис
nounoffice
- зарплата
nounsalary
Grammar
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«работать» + instrumental case: «работаю врачом»
Explanation
To name a profession, Russian puts it in the INSTRUMENTAL case after the verb «работать»: «Я работаю врачом» (I work as a doctor). It is the same case as «зимой» (chapter 28) and «автобусом» (chapter 33) — you already know it. The new role: what you work as. Masculine adds «-ом» after a hard consonant and «-ем» after a soft one: врач → врачом, инженер → инженером, but учитель → учителем, водитель → водителем. Feminine «-а» changes to «-ой»: медсестра → медсестрой. The question uses the word «кем» — the instrumental of «кто»: «Кем вы работаете?». Note: without «работать» you can simply say «Я врач» (chapter 5, zero copula, nominative) — but with «работать» you need the instrumental: «Я работаю врачом». Typical mistake: in English "work as a doctor" the word does not change, so people say «Я работаю врач» ✗. In Russian the correct form is: «Я работаю врачом» ✓.
Examples
- Я работаю врачом в больнице.I work as a doctor at a hospital.
- Кем вы работаете?What do you work as?
- Она работает учителем в школе.She works as a teacher at a school.
- Мой брат работает инженером, а я — водителем.My brother works as an engineer, and I as a driver.
Cyrillic
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Окончания «-ом / -ем» и буква «ц»— The endings «-ом / -ем» and the letter «ц»
The instrumental of professions gives two new endings. After a hard consonant write «-ом», which under stress sounds clearly «-óm»: врач → врачом «vrachóm», инженер → инженером «inzhenérom» (here «-ером» = a soft «р» + «ом»). After a soft consonant (a soft sign «ь») write «-ем»: учитель → учителем «uchítelem», водитель → водителем «vadítelem». And the letter «ц» is always read as «ts» (as in English «cats»): продавец → «pradavéts», and in the instrumental the fleeting «е» drops out: продавцом → «pradavtsóm». Read the words aloud and feel the difference between the hard «-ом» and the soft «-ем».
Read the words aloud:
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