47 Comments
- 13
- 11
- 8
- 8
Would it have the same meaning with a different word order? 'cosa tu arrostisci?'
- 15
- 14
- 11
- 8
you can say "Tu cosa arrostisci?" or "cosa arrostisci tu?", but not "cosa tu arrostisci?"
- 20
- 19
- 13
I'm still trying to get my head around this. "Tu arrostisci (qualcosa)" would be right, wouldn't it? Usually, "Che cosa ..." followed by the declarative form is right, as in "Che cosa fai?" But that's with 'tu' implied. If you insert tu, is "Che cosa tu fai" wrong? Does it have to be "Che cosa fai tu?"
- 25
- 12
- 10
- 5
- 4
"Che cosa fai?" is the right way to say it. If you don't want to omit "tu" you could still say also "Che cosa fai tu?", but not "Che cosa tu fai?". It sounds redundant though.
- 21
- 17
- 14
- 8
- 6
No, first is right. Second to me sounds strange, I would stick with your gut feeling.
- 22
- 5
- 4
- 4
- 3
- 3
- 3
- 3
- 2
- 2
- 26
But, you can say "Cosa arrostichi?" Obviously, 'Tu' is here only for emphasis.
It's an unusual sentence structure in English. I can only think of two times you'd use it: 1. As a reaction to someone who has said they roast something very strange -- porridge, for instance -- and you react with astonishment or disbelief: You roast WHAT?? 2. A leading question (perhaps to a child): "In the summer, when we have a campfire, we sit around it and roast what?"
Is this the correct translation? I understand it gets the point across but the question was asked in the present continuous but you answered in the present simple.
Would the better answer not be 'stai arrostendo qualcosa'
I would love an Italian speaker to add to this. Thanks
- 15
- 3
I roast people. Boy look at that hairline no wonder your girlfriend is cheating on you.
- 13
- 6
- 4
Are you roasting something? is this not also a valid translation?
"Cosa" is "what"..."qualcosa" is something. So "are you roasting something" would be "acrostici qualcosa?"
- 25
- 20
- 19
- 4
- 2
- 52
No, and I made the same mistake. "What" are you roasting means that I am definitely roasting something, and the question is, what is it.
- 21
- 17
- 12
- 10
- 9
DL hints 'roast', 'toast', and 'broil', so do they have any differences? are they interchangeably?
- 25
- 166
To roast meat you surround it with dry heat (usally in an oven) and it cooks by convection. To broil meat it is exposed directly to the heat source (such as an open flame) and cooks by radiation. To fry something it is put in actual contact with the heat (such as a pan, or submerged in hot oil) and it cooks by conduction. Baking is the same as roasting, but roasting usually refers to meat and baking to bread and pastries. Toasting is the same as broiling but again, broiling usually refers to meat and toasting to bread and pastry.
Question: In English you can use roasting in its literal form, like to cook something, and also in a non-literal form, like when you "roast" your friend with an insult. Is there something similar in Italian?
- 25
- 25
- 22
- 18
- 16
- 16
- 13
- 13
- 12
- 11
- 11
- 10
- 10
- 10
- 9
- 8
- 8
- 8
- 7
- 7
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 3
- 3
- 3
- 3
I believe that would be a different verb, just as it is different if you were to say you were roasting because the weather is so hat. http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-italian/roast
Funny! Arrostisci in greek means "got sick"! What did you get sick? I got sick my puppy because I was sick too...
- 24
- 72
Cosa arrostisci is quite enough to ask, but this way with Tu I was confused!
- 22
- 14
- 4
- 214
Think of it as asking in English, "You there, what are you roasting?" Because in fact, that's how it's spoken in Italian, as if there were a comma and an ever-so-slight pause after the leading word for You--Tu, ... cosa arrostici? Or as if you were going through a kitchen asking each sous-chef what they are doing. "You, what are you chopping? And you, what are you washing? And how about you, what are you roasting?" But in Italian it is used much more frequently than in English, and its use is not limited to the narrow type of questions I used in English. Hopefully this makes sense...
That makes it much easier for me to wrap my head around. Thanks!
- 21
- 7
Why not ' are you roasting something' as I follow the burnt smell from the kitchen as my husband is on his cellphone talking?
- 17
- 15
Don't think so as that would be 'What you you roasting?'
You can drop the Tu and say 'Cosa arrostisci?'. With the leading Tu, you're placing a slight emphasis on the you; almost like getting the person's attention -- You, what are you roasting?
I think that's how it works anyway. :-)
Pidgin Italian, I think. Che cosa arrostisci? sounds more correct. Plus, it is confusing that sometimes the translation in English is supposed to be fry and sometimes grill.
