那你之前是干什么的呀
“What did you do before?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
做啥的都有
“They come from all walks of life.”
那你 之前是干什么的 呀
“What did you do before?”
我当过小学教员
“I was a primary school teacher.”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Asking 'What did you do before?' is a conventional, socially acceptable way to establish mutual understanding and uncover shared background among new acquaintances.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
what do you do / what is your line of work
A very common colloquial question to ask someone's profession or role.
before / previously
Used as a time word to reference previous experiences or occupations.
Softens the question, making the personal inquiry sound warm and non-threatening.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“Where did you work before?”
“(Qidaohezi Building Materials Factory, 1996) I never asked your name”
“Then what are you doing right now?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Then who was your former employer?”
“What were you doing at the time?”