What does this sentence "你們是一家什麽公司?" means ?

[reinard_wu]

1. What does this sentence "你們是一家什麽公司？" means ? 

 

2. Is it possible to use these sentences:

一) 你是一家什麽公司？

二) 他是一家什麽公司？

三) 你的朋友是一家什麽公司？

[889]

“What kind of company are you?"

 

Depending on context, it might be asking what kind of legal form your company takes, whether a corporation or a sole proprietorship, for example. Or it might be asking about your line of business, whether a trading or a manufacturing company, for example.

 

I'd say it's a colloquial use.

[陳德聰]

I think the crucial point is that whatever you could replace the 什麼 will dictate what the question could possibly mean.

It is as 889 says, that it depends on context. You generally have to look at potential answers to the question to figure out which question meaning you think fits. If you would say 我們是一家通訊公司 "we are a telecommunications company" or 我們是一家茶葉公司 "we are a tea leaf company" is a potential answer, then the question was aimed at what specific service or goods your company provides, and if you would say 我們是一家國際貿易公司 "we are an international trading company" answers the question, then the question was asking about what line of work your company is in (trading, manufacturing, consulting, etc) without speaking to what you trade in or manufacture or whatever, but if you could say 我們是一家有限責任公司 "we are a limited liability company" as a potential answer, then the question is aimed at what kind of legal form your company takes. If it's an open-ended question, then all the possibilities work and it's really similar to English "what kind of company are you?"

I don't know if I'd say it's colloquial so much as it seems kind of curt. I get business emails in a similar tone pretty regularly.

[Demonic_Duck]

In response to question 2, no. It should be 你们/他们/你朋友他们 (in the last case it's sort of shorthand for "your friend [and everyone else in the group referred to]".

In each case, the group of people referred to is everyone who works for that company, and the group is treated as representing the company itself. Similar to how entities containing many people are often treated as plural in British English.

[reinard_wu]

@陳德聰

How to ask below question in Chinese （用漢語怎麽問）:

1. What specific service or goods your company provides?

2. What line of work your company is in (trading, manufacturing, consulting, etc) ?

3. What kind of legal form your company takes?

 

 

 

@All

Do these sentences sound good (used in general)?

 

1. 你們是一家什麽公司? 我們是一家是通讯公司。= What kind of company are you? We are a telecommunications company.

2. 你朋友他們是一家什麽公司？我朋友是一家外貿公司。= What kind of company are your friend? My friend is a trading company.

[889]

我们是个通讯公司。

 

他们是个外貿公司。

[陳德聰]

@889

"我们是个通讯公司" <- I wrinkled my nose a bit at this one, I wouldn't say it's wrong but it sounds unfelicitous to me.

@reinard_wu

If you want to ask those questions specifically, you would end up with a totally different question.

"你們是一家什麼公司？" covers all of them, but asked by itself is non-specific. If you'd like to keep your sentence structure intact:

1. 你們是一家提供什麼服務的／賣什麼產品的公司？

2. 你們是一家從事什麼行業的公司？

3. 你們是一家什麼形式的公司？

[reinard_wu]

@陳德聰

Do these sentences sound good (used in general)?

 

1. 你們是一家什麽公司? 我們是一家是通讯公司。= What kind of company are you? We are a telecommunications company.

2. 你朋友他們是一家什麽公司？我朋友是一家外貿公司。= What kind of company are your friend? My friend is a trading company.

[陳德聰]

Keep in mind that your answer to the question should have the same sentence structure, and only replaces the question word "什麼".

1. 你們是一家什麼公司？我們是一家通訊公司

2. 你朋友他們是一家什麼公司？我朋友他們是一家外貿公司

Don't add a 是 where it doesn't belong.