Hello Christopher, Just remember that the French equivalent for "being retired" is "être à la retraite" (literally: to be on pension). "Retraite" is a noun, not an adjective, it means "pension, retirement", not "retired". But if you want a structurally closer equivalent, you can also learn "être retraité", which basically has the same meaning.

Hi, there's a "à" in the sentence as the same reason it's "to the" in english, we might think it's a direction too for french speaker. Whatever, I can't explain you should contact a professional teacher. For the second sentence, the "vous" indicates to who we're talking to. Example: 1. (Without the vous): Je ne comprends pas = I don't understand 2. (With the vous) : Je ne vous comprends pas = I don't understand you The "vous" goes between the negative form (ne) and the verb. We use it to indicate to the interlocutor we're speaking to him/her. With other sentences: Je ne vous parle pas. (I didn't speak to you) Je ne t'ai jamais dit oui) (I've never said yes to you) Do you understand that the "vous" moves?