Learn how to ask "What are you doing?"
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Introduction | |
| Becky: Welcome to ItalianPod101.com. This is 3-Minute Italian Season 1, Lesson 12 - Asking What Someone is Doing. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer the question ‘What are you doing?’ in Italian. | |
| Body | |
| Becky: Here's the informal way to ask 'What are you doing?' in Italian. | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] Cosa stai facendo? | |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'what' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] cosa [Slow] cosa | |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'you are' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] stai [Slow] stai | |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'doing' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] facendo [Slow] facendo | |
| Becky: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning 'What are you doing?' | |
| Ofelia: [Slow] Cosa stai facendo? [Normal] Cosa stai facendo? | |
| Becky: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'What are you doing?' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] Cosa sta facendo? | |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'what' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] cosa [Slow] cosa | |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'you are (polite)' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] sta [Slow] sta | |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'doing' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] facendo [Slow] facendo | |
| Becky: Note again the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning 'What are you doing?' | |
| Ofelia: [Slow] Cosa sta facendo? [Normal] Cosa sta facendo? | |
| Becky: Here's a response meaning 'I am studying.' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] Sto studiando. | |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'I am' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] sto [Slow] sto | |
| Becky: Last is the word meaning 'studying' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] studiando [Slow] studiando | |
| Becky: Listen again to the response, 'I am studying.' | |
| Ofelia: [Slow] Sto studiando. [Normal] Sto studiando. | |
| Becky: Here's a response meaning, 'I'm doing nothing special.' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] Non sto facendo niente di speciale. | |
| Becky: First is a word meaning 'not' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] non [Slow] non | |
| Becky: Next is the phrase meaning 'am doing' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] sto facendo [Slow] sto facendo | |
| Becky: Next is the word meaning 'nothing' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] niente [Slow] niente | |
| Becky: Last is the phrase meaning 'special' | |
| Ofelia: [Normal] di speciale [Slow] di speciale | |
| Becky: Listen again to the response, 'I'm doing nothing special.' | |
| Ofelia: [Slow] Non sto facendo niente di speciale. [Normal] Non sto facendo niente di speciale. | |
| Cultural Insight | |
| Becky: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. | |
| Ofelia: This lesson’s question is probably the question Italians ask most on the phone. The more they think of you as a dear friend, the more likely you will be asked it! Please know that it’s used just as an icebreaker to start the conversation. | |
Outro |
|
|---|---|
| Becky: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! | |
| Ofelia: Ciao! |
17 Comments
HideWhat are you doing while listening to this lesson?
Ciao Bill!
Ottimo lavoro, bravo.
My only correction for you is "E come stai?"
When asking the same thing back to someone, you should express the subject. -> Sto bene. E TU come stai?
Here's another example:
Signor Rossi, Lei ha figli?
Sì, ne ho due. E LEI ha figli?
A presto!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao, Marina! Come stai?
Sto bene, Bill. E come stai?
Anch'io sto bene. Grazie! Cosa stai facendo?
Sto andando in bicicletta. E tu? Cosa stai facendo?
Sto comprando cibo per cena.
Cosa sta facendo tuo filio Antonio?
Lui sta guidando la sua macchina.
E cosa stanno facendo Peter e Paolo?
Loro stanno giocando a tennis.
Devo andare. Ciao!
Ciao!
Ciao Mary,
Grazie mille for posting. If you ever have any questions, please let us know. 😉
A presto,
Levente
Team ItalianPod101.com
Chio I just sent a voice message to my daughter in Italian. She pickup on it rightaway. I told her I trying to learn Italian on italian apod.
Thank you for my new found adventure your program is fun and easy.
Hi E,
thanks for all your comments, you're doing a great job! 👍
A presto,
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Niente di speciale
Hi metyus,
Your sentence is correct! You could also say "mentre" (=while) instead of "quando".
Thanks for your comment!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
sto prendendo appunti quando ascolto questo lezione
Hi Ivan Keller,
Did you mean "Non sto facendo niente di speciale." ?😅
Thank you for posting!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
有了Non，为什么还要用niente，这样不就造成双重否定了吗
I'm not doing nothing special.