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- Topic: French >
- "He is a waiter."
"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
250
"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 Regardless of dictionaries, which can be out of date, it would be a mistake to use "garçon" in this way.
- 2097
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".
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.
- 2097
It is considered impolite to call a server "boy". So on Duolingo, you will find the word "serveur/serveuse" used instead.
Merci beaucoup. The evolution of language can be a good thing, as it notes changing attitudes, oui?
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'.
- 317
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”.
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 ;)
Oh just saw previous answer. "Il est serveur" or "C'est un serveur", Thx.
