“What do you guys think about the idea of having our team building here in the office?”

English Lesson: What do you guys think about the idea of having our team building here in the office?

You're planning a party for your department at work. The budget for this party isn't very high, so you want to make a low-cost suggestion. You email your suggestion to some coworkers who are helping you plan it.

What do you guys think about the idea of having our team building here in the office?

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you guys

People use "you guys" when talking to a group of people that may include men and women. For example, a waiter might say this to a large family eating at a restaurant:

Have you guys been here before?

English has a problem because "you" is used for both one person and a group of people. It can be confusing. To fix this, people in different regions use different words to talk to a group. In Southern areas of the U.S., some people say "y'all":

Have y'all covered exponents yet?

People in other areas of the country think this sounds really dumb, though.

"You guys" is still considered casual English, but it's very common for younger people and people from the West Coast of the U.S. to use this phrase.

the office

When you're talking about doing something at the office that you work at, you can call it "the office" (not "my office" or  "my company's office"). "The office" refers not only to the location, but also the people who work at your office. For example:

 I only go into the office two or three days a week. The rest of the time, I can work from home.

I just got a call from the office. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cut this meeting short. 

What do you think about the idea of (something)?

When you're trying to make a plan or decision with a group of people, you can use the phrase "What do you think about the idea of ___?"

A: We need to raise more money for the campaign.

B: What do you think about the idea of buying online ads to ask for donations?

The idea can be one that someone mentioned before, or a brand new idea.

team building

In many companies, office parties are sometimes called "team building". While "having an office party" might sound like it's a waste of the company's money, "team building" sounds like something that will make employees work together better. So companies or departments throw parties and call them "team building".

here (somewhere)

We sometimes use the word "here" and then follow it with more description of where we're talking about.

I've lived here in Los Angeles for almost ten years.

I think we'll just stay here at home.