Work & Professions
Work & Professions
Naming someone's profession is one of the few places Spanish drops the article entirely — a small but easy-to-forget exception to everything you've learned about nouns needing el/la.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
No article before an unmodified profession
soy profesor (I am a teacher) — not 'soy un profesor'
I am a teacher — 'a' is required
After ser, an unmodified profession drops the indefinite article entirely — soy profesor, es médico — even though every other noun in this course has needed el/la or un/una. English always keeps 'a' in this same sentence, so resist the urge to add un/una here out of habit.
The article comes back the moment you add a description
es un profesor excelente (he's an excellent teacher) — un returns once excelente is added
he's an excellent teacher — 'an' was already there
The moment the profession is modified by an adjective, the article returns as normal — es un profesor excelente needs un just like any other noun phrase would. So the rule isn't 'professions never take an article', it's specifically 'a bare, undescribed profession after ser drops it'.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- I'm a teacher
- English
- he's a doctor
- English
- she's a lawyer
- English
- he's an engineer
- English
- the job / the work
- English
- the office
- English
- the boss
- English
- I earn money
- English
- I'm unemployed
- English
- an excellent teacher