Yo soy enfermera. Y tú, ¿qué haces?
I’m a nurse. And what do you do?
To refer to an occupation or activity which is temporary, we use estar, followed by the
preposition de:
¿En qué trabaja Carmen?
What does Carmen do?Está de dependienta en una tienda.
She is working as a shop-assistant. 22.2 (p. 105)
To refer to an occupation or activity which is not that normally performed by the
person referred to, we use hacer de:
Marta no vendrá hoy, así que tú tendrás que hacer de secretaria.
Marta will not come today, so you will have to act as a secretary.
Ella hizo de madre para mí.
She acted as a mother to me.
Hacer de is also used when the subject is not suited for the occupation or activity
referred to:
Paco está haciendo de mecánico en el taller de su padre.
Paco is working as a mechanic in his father’s garage.
Como no encontré trabajo como periodista, tuve que hacer de
recepcionista.
As I could not find work as a journalist, I had to work as a receptionist.34.6.2 To ask and give information about status or rank, religion and political affiliation use
ser:
Es el gerente de la empresa.
He is the manager of the company.
Es general de ejército.
He is an army general.
Clara es católica.
Clara is a Catholic.
Miguel es socialista.
Miguel is a socialist.
Notice the omission of the equivalent of English ‘a’ in Clara es católica, Miguel es
socialista.4.5 (p. 22); 22.1 (p. 103)
Occupation, status or rank, religion and political affliation 34.6