"Cosa fai?"
Translation:What do you do?
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Thanks for the clarification. I do understand that in Italian it can mean either, which is great. But in English it is definitely not the same. "What are you doing" means in this moment, and "what do you do" means what do you do with your time, presumably as a job.
If you stretch it, "what are you doing these days" or "what are you doing now" (with "now" meaning in a general sense, not at this very moment) could be used to ask "what is your job" but without qualifications you wouldn't expect someone to answer with their profession.
I've noticed when learning Spanish that sometimes where we would use the gerund (what are you DOING) they can just stick with the present indicitive i guess (what do you do) even though it is two different questions in English. I havent gotten far in Italian but it seems italian is the same in thay aspect
578
in Italian language the verb "fare" is used a lot.
in this case without context both ("do" and "make") are ok
- cosa puoi fare? = what can you do?
- io faccio una torta = I make a cake
- tu fai una domanda = you (1 person) ask a question
- voi fate una domanda = you (2+ people) ask a question
- mio padre fa l'avvocato = my father is a lawyer
- loro fanno la doccia = they take a shower
- noi facciamo colazione = we have breakfast
we make (prepare) breakfast = noi prepariamo la colazione
http://italian.about.com/od/verbs/a/italian-verb-fare-idiomatic-expressions.htm
478
can anyone tell me how is that verb going?
io fa tu fai lui\lei -?- noi famiamo? voi faviete? loro favono?
something like this?
578
Simple present of the verb "fare" (to do/to make)
io faccio - tu fai - lui/lei fa - noi facciamo - voi fate - loro fanno
578
All your sentences are correct and interchangeable.
more precisely
- "cosa stai facendo?" = "what are you doing?"
- "che cosa fai?"/ "cosa fai?" / "che fai?" = "what do you do?" and also "what are you doing?"
Duolingo usually requires gerund tense for that: "Cosa stai facendo" = What are you doing/making?
http://italian.about.com/od/verbs/a/italian-verbs-gerund-form.htm gerund it is taught later on in the skill tree
Yes, "Cosa stai facendo" is more acceptable for "What are you doing/making" than "cosa fai".
Generally "what do you make?" = "cosa fai?"
I think that "What do you make? as if asking "How much do you earn?" would be Quanto guadagni? (guadagnare = to earn http://www.wordreference.com/iten/guadagnare)
578
the italian idiom for your sentence is:
- Q: "di cosa ti fai?" = "what type of drug do you use for yourself?"
- A: "io mi faccio di eroina" = "I shoot up heroine"
2438
It depends on context, really. If you asked this of someone who was actively doing something, they would certainly understand you, but more accurate might be "cosa sta(i) facendo?". It can also mean "what's up", "wassup?", "how ya doing", etc. - all based upon context and how you say it. This could, however, be locale dependent, but is certainly valid in Umbria.
2438
I'm a bit confused. Everything I have learned has pointed that "what are you doing" is a present progressive tense and would therefore be "cosa stai facendo". I simply do not grok when present indicative implies ongoing action.
why can one translate "cosa fai?" with either simple present or continuous, but "lei parla" is--per discussions and busuu answer--is only translated with the simple present?
2438
It can mean both, and as far as being abrasive, it is all about the intonation you give it. I often us it for the equivalent of "whatcha doin'?"
fare is a versatile verb, as is to do in English
Context would help when translating which meaning is most appropriate