"He is a waiter."
Translation:Il est serveur.
19 Comments
In french, when identifying someone's profession or national identity the indefinite article is dropped. So I would say "Je suis professeur" or "Je suis Américain".
The exception to this is the use of "C'est" or "Ce sont".
A good explanation can be found here: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa032500.htm
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why not. Il est un garçon. http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/gar%C3%A7on 5th meaning.
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"Garçon" was what I was taught years and years ago, but as I understand it, is now considered quite rude, just as calling a waiter "boy" in English would be. Regardless of dictionaries, which can be out of date, it would be a mistake to use "garçon" in this way.
To add to DianaM's comment, be aware that when you use a modifier (un/une) of any kind before the noun, you must use "c'est", not "il est". So you can say either "Il est serveur" or "C'est un serveur", but not "Il est un serveur".
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Yes, please, DL. I just checked my Larousse, looked up "waiter" in English, and the only translation given was "garçon." Why is this not correct? Tnx.
It is considered impolite to call a server "boy". So on Duolingo, you will find the word "serveur/serveuse" used instead.
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Merci beaucoup. The evolution of language can be a good thing, as it notes changing attitudes, oui?
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Polite or not 'Garçon' is, in fact, a word for 'waiter' and as such it should be accepted. At least, it shouldn't be 'wrong'.
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I'm probably confused but shouldn't "C'est" be as acceptable as "Il est"? At least they translated it that way a few sentences back.
First, a structurally correct sentence would « Il est du personnel ». But even then, it's not the right translation. « Le personnel » refer to “the staff” (of a restaurant for example), so it's less precise than “the waiter”.
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Since serveur is a profession it follows "profession" rules for pronouns: either "c'est un serveur" or "il est serveur". Much like c'est un prof or Il est prof. Why? I don't know for sure, though my hunch is that may have to do with pronunciation- "c'est un" (with the pronounced t) flows better than "il est un... and french is nothing if not flowy ;)
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Oh just saw previous answer. "Il est serveur" or "C'est un serveur", Thx.
