Italian for English speakers House · Lesson 7

What? Why!

Question words in Italian — Che cosa fai? (What are you doing?) — for casual questions.

Conversation

  1. Yaya Yaya

    Hey! Cosa fai?

    Hey! What are you doing?

  2. Pishi Pishi

    Rompo la tua torta!

    I'm breaking your cake

  3. Yaya Yaya

    Nooo! Perchè?

    Nooo! Why?

  4. Pishi Pishi

    Perchè voglio dormire

    Because I was sleeping

  5. Pishi Pishi

    Ma tu parli a voce troppo alta!

    But you are talking too loudly

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

Che cosa vs cosa vs che?

All three mean 'what'. Che cosa fai? Cosa fai? Che fai? — All correct. Cosa fai is most casual.

Does Italian have a present continuous?

Yes: stare + gerund. Sto facendo = 'I'm doing'. Stai mangiando = 'you're eating'. Used for actions happening right now.

Italian question words?

Che cosa (what), perché (why/because), quando (when), dove (where), chi (who), quanto (how much/many), come (how).

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