What are you doing?
- Che cosa fai? (What are you doing?) is a generic question you ask someone what he or she does/is doing. One answers telling what he or she is doing (Io studio, lavoro, etc.). Of course, like in English sometimes it is possible to answer the question using the same verb fare (to do). You will study this point later (see Unità 5)
- You can ask a specific question simply using the present tense of the verb: Studi? (Are you studying?), Nuoti? (Are you swimming), Balli? (Are you dancing?), Cammini? (Are you walking?), Lavori? (Are you working?)
- Italians tend not to use the subject pronouns (they are only used for adding emphasis). When used, the pronoun can be placed in front or after the verb: Tu che cosa fai?/Che cosa fai tu?; Tu studi?/Studi tu?
- You answer the above questions indicating what you are doing: Studio (I am studying), Nuoto (I am swimming), Ballo (I am dancing), Cammino (I am walking), Lavoro (I am working), or Io studio, Io nuoto, etc.
- Since the Italian present tense not only corresponds to the English present continuous but also to the simple present, the above questions and answer can be the equivalent of What do you do? Do you study? Do you swim? I work etc.
Some action verbs To practice on vocabulary and pronunciation, use Quizlet.
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| GRAMMAR
Regular Italian verbs in -are: io and tu forms 
Regular Italian verbs are divided into three conjugations, according to whether their infinitive forms end in -are (1st), –ere (2nd), or -ire (3rd). In this Unità, you are going to learn the pattern for the present tense of verbs ending in -are (abitare ‘to live‘, studiare ‘to study‘, etc.).
The Italian present tense corresponds essentially to the English simple present (studio ‘I study‘) as well as to the emphatic present (studio ‘I do study‘) and the present progressive (studio ‘I am studying’).
Present tense of these verbs is formed by dropping –are, and adding -o for io=I (first sing. person), and -i for tu=you (second sing. person).
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lavorare (to work) |
| io |
lavoro (I work)
|
| tu |
lavori (you work) |
- Verbs ending in –care (giocare ‘to play a game/sport‘) and –gare (pagare ‘to pay‘) add an h immediately after the root when declinations start with i (tu form) to maintain the hard c or hard g sound. See the table below for a sample conjugation of giocare (to play)
- Verbs ending in –iare (mangiare ‘to eat’, studiare ‘to study‘,etc.) drop the i of the root when declinations start with i (tu form).
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giocare (to play a game/sport) |
pagare (to pay) |
mangiare (to eat) |
| io |
gioco (I play)
|
pago (I pay)
|
mangio (I eat)
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| tu |
giochi (you play)
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paghi (you pay)
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mangi (you eat)
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Tasks
- Repeat the above questions several times. Then use Speech to text to check your pronunciation.
- Answer the question Cosa fai? writing three different sentences. Then check if there are mistakes in your writing with Spell and Grammar Checker.
- Based on the chapter topic, write a short and simple dialogue between two friends. Use the Dictionary if you want to use other verbs. Then check if there are mistakes in your dialogue with Spell and Grammar Checker
- Work in pairs. Create a dialogue combining the following verbs, words, and phrases:
a) parlare; incontrare; comprare; lavorare; mangiare
b) una studentessa americana; in Italia; italiano; un computer, una pizza
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Practice
Previous > E tu?
Next > U1 Reading passages, songs, video clips, etc.
