Catherine, ancienne prof de philo

Question

The lesson on professions and pronouns says that when an adjective is used a pronoun is needed.
So would :  "Catherine, une ancienne prof de philo"
be acceptable

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Ian,
That's an excellent point!
However, here, the person talking is stating Catherine's former profession but is not using "être" - which would indeed require the use of the indefinite article. Here, there's a comma instead.
Patrick, ancien brigadier-chef dans l'armée, nous fait part de son histoire = Patrick, a former sergeant in the army, is sharing his story with us.

Anne, ancienne infirmière, nous parle de sa carrière = Anne, a former nurse, is telling us about her career history

I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !