Basic Business English Lesson: Work and Jobs

MichaelAD Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Today, lets have a look at some ways to use the words work and job.

If you want to ask someone about work, you can ask, “What do you do?” like this:

Bob: What do you do?

Joe: I’m a teacher.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the answer to “What do you do?” should be clear and is usually your job title or a description of your position.

Here are some other phrases using work and job:

Work is a verb, so you can say:

  • I work in bank
  • I work Monday to Friday
  • I worked until 9 last night.

Work and job are nouns, so here are some set phrases using work and job:

job (one’s position in the company)

  • I love my job!
  • Being a firefighter is a difficult and dangerous job.

work (the tasks one does in the company)

  • I have a lot of work to do today.
  • Jack said his work at the bank is very routine.

go to work (travel to work)

  • I went to work yesterday
  • Joe goes to work by subway

get to work (arrived at my office)

  • I got to work at 8:30 this morning.
  • I usually get to work at 9.

get to work on (begin working on something)

  • Let’s get to work!
  • We need to get to work on the marketing project.

at work (at my workplace)

  • I was at work all weekend.
  • Where’s Jack? He’s at work today.

off work (finished working for the day or a day of no work)

  • I’m so happy because I am off work tomorrow.
  • I am off work at 5:00 today, so let’s meet for dinner.

have work (have tasks to accomplish)

  • I have a lot of work to do this morning, so I don’t want to be disturbed.
  • The boss has no work for us, so we will go home early.

out of work (to be unemployed)

  • Tony has been out of work for six months.
  • Many people are out of work because of the recession.

have a job (to be employed)

  • Joe has a job at the bank.
  • I have a great job at Happy English!

get a job (to become employed)

  • Jane hopes to get a job at the insurance company
  • Lori got a new job last week.

What do you do? Do you like your job? Do you have a lot of work to do everyday?

How about studying English with me? I am available for private English lessons in New York, and online via Skype. Also, check out my newest book & audio podcasts, 109 Phrasal Verbs

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *