Collocation
What do you do?
This common question is used to ask about someone's occupation, job, or profession.
Definition
'What do you do?' is a common English collocation. This common question is used to ask about someone's occupation, job, or profession.
What do you do?
“When I meet new people, I often ask, 'What do you do?' to learn about their profession.”
Examples
- At the party, she asked him, 'What do you do?' to start a conversation about his career.
- If you want to know someone's occupation, you can simply ask, 'What do you do?'
- My friend asked me, 'What do you do?' when we hadn't seen each other for years, curious about my current job.
Show more examples
- During the networking event, everyone was keen to find out, 'What do you do?' from the new contacts.
- She prepared her answer carefully, knowing someone would eventually ask, 'What do you do?' at the conference.
- It's always interesting to hear the varied responses when I ask people, 'What do you do?' and learn about their work.
- It's often seen as an icebreaker to inquire, 'What do you do?' when meeting someone new professionally.
- The etiquette guide suggested that 'What do you do?' is an acceptable way to inquire about someone's profession in most social settings.
More at A2 level
- How's it going? A common informal greeting used to ask someone how they are or what is happening in their life.
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- Long time no see. An informal greeting used when you meet someone you haven't seen for a significant period of time.
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- What have you been up to? An informal question asking what someone has been doing recently, or how they have been spending th…