be a(n): she’s a doctor
she’s doctor, she does the doctor
Sister Catherine asks all the Catholic school children what they want to be when they grow up. Little Sheila says “When I grow up, I want to be a prostitute!” Sister Catherine’s eyes grow wide. “What did you say?!” “A prostitute!” Sheila repeated. Sister Catherine breathed a sigh of relief and said “Whew! Thank goodness! I thought you said Protestant!”
✓ My dad’s a policeman.
✗ My dad *is policeman*. / My dad *does the policeman*.
Mio papà fa il poliziotto.
In English, when we say what someone’s job or occupation is, we say I’m a …, he’s a …, etc. (using the verb be, not *do* and using a, not the. For example:
✓ He’s a bouncer.
Fa il buttafuori.
✓ What do you want to be when you grow up?
Cosa vuoi fare da grande?
Now try the quiz below! There are TEN answers. The pass mark is 90% (9 out of 10). Click on the blue arrows to go to the next or previous question. You can check your answers immediately or when you’ve finished the quiz.