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English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 36

What do you do? 무슨 일 하세요?

직업과 일터를 말하기. 어휘: job, manager, nurse, engineer, waiter, office, company, customer, boss, colleague, earn. 핵심 문법: 직업을 물을 때 "What do you do?"("당신의 직업은 무엇입니까?"라는 뜻). 대답할 때 영어는 단수 직업 앞에 "a / an"이 필요해요: "I'm a nurse", "She's an engineer", "He's a manager" — 절대 "I'm nurse" 아님. 그리고 "work as a…"(직업), "work for…"(회사), "work in…"(장소·분야)도 써요: "I work as a waiter", "She works for a big company", "He works in an office". 한국어와 많은 언어엔 관사가 없어서 학습자는 빼먹어요: "I am teacher" ✗ → "I'm a teacher" ✓. 발음 코너: 직업 어미의 약한 schwa — teacher, doctor, manager, engineer.

I am teacher or I'm a teacher? — I am teacher 아니면 I'm a teacher?

  1. Emma Minsu, what do you do? 민수 씨, 무슨 일 하세요?
  2. Minsu I am teacher. I work in school. 저는 선생님이에요. 학교에서 일해요. (실수: 단수 직업엔 "a"가 필요하고 장소도 "a/the" → "I'm a teacher. I work in a school.")
  3. Emma Almost! A singular job needs "a": "I'm a teacher." And "I work in a school." 거의 다 됐어요! 단수 직업엔 "a"가 필요해요: "I'm a teacher." 그리고 "I work in a school."
  4. Minsu Ah, I see. I'm a teacher, and I work in a school. My sister is an engineer. 아, 알겠어요. 저는 선생님이고 학교에서 일해요. 제 여동생은 엔지니어예요.
  5. Emma Perfect — "an engineer", because "engineer" starts with a vowel sound. What does your sister do exactly? 완벽해요 — "an engineer", "engineer"가 모음 소리로 시작하니까요. 여동생은 정확히 무슨 일 해요?
  6. Minsu She works for a car company. She's a manager, so she's very busy. 그녀는 자동차 회사에서 일해요. 매니저라서 아주 바빠요.

At the office — 사무실에서

  1. Jack Emma, this is a nice office. What do you do here? Emma, 사무실 좋네요. 여기서 무슨 일 해요?
  2. Emma I'm a designer. I work for a small company, and I really like my colleagues. 저는 디자이너예요. 작은 회사에서 일하는데 동료들이 정말 좋아요.
  3. Jack That sounds great. Is your boss nice? 좋네요. 상사는 좋은 분이에요?
  4. Emma Yes, she's a good manager. And what about you? What do you do? 네, 좋은 매니저예요. 당신은요? 무슨 일 해요?
  5. Jack I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital, and I love helping people. 저는 간호사예요. 병원에서 일하고, 사람 돕는 걸 좋아해요.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
job n. 일, 직업
manager n. 매니저, 관리자
nurse n. 간호사
engineer n. 엔지니어
waiter n. 웨이터, 종업원
office n. 사무실
company n. 회사
customer n. 손님, 고객
boss n. 상사, 사장
colleague n. 동료
earn v. (돈을) 벌다

"What do you do?" and "I'm a nurse" "What do you do?"와 "I'm a nurse"

To ask someone's job, English does not say "What is your job?" in everyday speech. It says "What do you do?" — the present simple you learned in chapter 18, used here to mean "what do you do for a living?". To answer, you must put "a" (or "an" before a vowel sound) in front of a singular job: "I'm a nurse", "She's an engineer", "He's a manager", "They're teachers" (plural drops the article). This is a fixed rule of English: a singular job is always "a / an + job". Three useful patterns say where or for whom you work: "work as a…" + job (I work as a waiter), "work for…" + a company or person (She works for a bank), "work in…" + a place or field (He works in an office / in marketing). Korean and many languages have no article, so learners drop it: "I am teacher" ✗, "She is engineer" ✗ → "I'm a teacher", "She's an engineer" ✓.

남의 직업을 물을 때 영어는 일상에서 "What is your job?"이 아니라 "What do you do?"라고 해요 — 18과의 현재 시제이고, 여기선 "무엇을 해서 먹고 살아요?"라는 뜻이에요. 대답할 때는 단수 직업 앞에 "a"(모음 소리 앞엔 "an")를 꼭 넣어요: "I'm a nurse", "She's an engineer", "He's a manager", "They're teachers"(복수는 관사 없음). 이건 영어의 고정 규칙이에요: 단수 직업은 언제나 "a / an + 직업". 어디서·누구를 위해 일하는지 말하는 세 가지 패턴: "work as a…" + 직업(I work as a waiter), "work for…" + 회사·사람(She works for a bank), "work in…" + 장소·분야(He works in an office / in marketing). 한국어와 많은 언어엔 관사가 없어서 학습자는 빼요: "I am teacher" ✗, "She is engineer" ✗ → "I'm a teacher", "She's an engineer" ✓.

  • "What do you do?" — "I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital." "무슨 일 하세요?" — "저는 간호사예요. 병원에서 일해요."
  • She's an engineer and she works for a big company. 그녀는 엔지니어이고 큰 회사에서 일해요.
  • My brother works as a waiter, so he meets a lot of customers. 제 형은 웨이터로 일해서 손님을 많이 만나요.
  • They're teachers. They don't earn much, but they love their job. 그들은 선생님이에요. 많이 못 벌지만 자기 일을 사랑해요.

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