31 Comments
For "When are you writing?" Italian has it's own construction. "Quando stai scrivendo?"
marian: In English and Spanish it is called Present Progressive, but in Italian I am not sure.............Also.....Google Translate says it could be "When are you writing?" (I do not vouch for Google Translate, but it seems quite reputable.)
Yes, it is the present progressive, or present continuous, in Italian. "When are you writing?" is a valid translation of "Quando scrivi?" The present continuous in Italian is more restricted -it is about what is happening in the moment (in progress). In fact, it would be a bit weird to ask "quando" with "stai scrivendo?" because the grammar implies the time: right now!
http://italian.about.com/od/verbs/a/italian-verbs-present-tense.htm
in italiano il presente progressivo praticamente non si usa. I play tennis= io gioco a tennis può essere un'affermazione come un'attività che sto svolgendo mentre i am payng tennis vuol dire che io sto giocando a tennis, cioè in questo momento compio l'azione di giocare mentre la frase io gioco a tennis vuol dire sia che sto giocando che il fatto che io sia capace di giocare a tennis. è molto complicato, come è complicato per noi usare in inglese il present continuous. Ciao
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So sorry my Italian is not good enough to understand. Could you do it in English.
Non credo che gli inglesi capiscano la tua spiegazione...
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Thanks for the site. Just what I needed. Another question. Would the present and/or present continuous Italian also be used for future as in Eng.? "The plane arrives at 7." "He is leaving in the morning."
No, I don't believe the present progressive is ever used for the future in Italian - it is always about what is happening right now - significantly different from English. However, you can use past and even future forms of stare + gerund to indicate what was / will be in progress at that time. Eg stavo leggendo in quel momento = I was reading at that moment. Starò cantando = I will be singing
The present continuous is never used for the future, but the present can be used this way. It's common to use the simple present in Italian to describe the near future, similarly to how we use the present continuous in English. For example: "Domani vado in biblioteca" (Tomorrow I'm going to the library.), or "Vieni alla festa stasera?" (Are you coming to the party tonight?).
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**@thoughtdiva & mmseiple Thanks for the clarification it helps especially getting into more advanced sentence structure.
Late at night, when I'm just about to fall asleep but then I get an idea, Duo.
I also think it could mean "when will you write?" For instance depending on the inflection - my cousin and I write (letters) to each other (American to Italy and back) and this is a common question between us. It could mean "time" as in when do you write (like when do you do your writing - in the morning, afternoon, evening, etc.) or when will you write - when will you write (me a letter) again?
Why is "When are you writing?" an incorrect translation? I was told it could only be "When do you write?"
Why is it 'when do you write' and not when will 'you write'? Could someone help me up here?
This may just be Spanish messing with me, but it seems like sometimes quando means when and sometimes it means how many. Maybe there's a slight difference in the words? HELP!
They're two separate words (in Spanish as well): quando (when) and quanto (how much/how many). If you're having trouble telling them apart, think of "quanTity" to remember that the word for "how many" has a T. Spanish is just the same, but the words are spelled with a C (cuándo, cuánto).
ohhhhh.... thanks, makes sense now!! giving you a lingot for answering my plea :)
It gives two different solutions; one in the answer and one in here on the discussion. The answer it shows me though is "When you write?" This does not sound like a proper sentence. Is this right?
How do i know which person i ak asking? If i am face to face, makes sense that i am asking you, but without context could iy be He or She?
When will you write - it may not be proper, but it is common. I.E. When are you going to write to me??? Shortened to When will you write?
What sort of question is this? I answered: "When will you write?" and scored incorrect. The answer to when do you write is indistinguishable from the answer to the question I posed.
When will you write? Tomorrow, after I arrive home. When do you write? Tomorrow, after I arrive home.
When will you write? When I am asked to turn over the exam booklet. When do you write? When I am asked to turn over the exam booklet.
When will you write? I have wrtier's block and won't overcome it until I've had a long bath. When do you write? I have wrtier's block and won't overcome it until I've had a long bath.
I could go on...
