Questions and Answers & Stare + Gerund
← Back to Lessons

Lesson: Questions and Answers & Stare + Gerund

This lesson covers two important topics for A1-A2 level students: how to form questions in Italian and how to use the "stare + gerund" construction to express ongoing actions.

1. Questions and Answers in Italian

In Italian, to ask a question we use two main types of questions:

  • Closed questions (Yes/No questions): The answer is usually "sì" (yes) or "no".
  • Open questions (Wh- questions): These questions ask for more information.

Most Common Question Words

English Italian Example
Who? Chi? Chi sei? (Who are you?)
What? Che? / Cosa? Che fai? (What are you doing?)
When? Quando? Quando arrivi? (When do you arrive?)
How? Come? Come stai? (How are you?)
Where? Dove? Dove abiti? (Where do you live?)
Why? Perché? Perché studi italiano? (Why do you study Italian?)
At what time? A che ora? A che ora inizia la lezione? (At what time does the lesson start?)
How much/many? Quanto/a/i/e? Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?)

Structure of Questions in Italian

For closed questions: Verb + Subject

Example: "Sei studente?" (Are you a student?)

For open questions: Question word + Verb + Subject

Example: "Dove abiti?" (Where do you live?)

Note: In Italian, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Exercises - Questions and Answers

1. Translate into Italian:

  1. Where do you live?
  2. What are you doing?
  3. Why are you here?
  4. At what time does the lesson start?
  5. Who is your teacher?

2. Complete with the correct Italian question word (Chi, Che, Dove, Quando, Perché, Quanto, Come, A che ora):

  1. ___ sei? (Who are you?)
  2. ___ fai? (What are you doing?)
  3. ___ costa? (How much does it cost?)
  4. ___ vieni? (Where are you coming from?)
  5. ___ stai? (How are you?)

3. Write your own questions in Italian using:

  • Chi (Who)
  • Dove (Where)
  • Perché (Why)

2. Stare + Gerund

The construction stare + gerund in Italian is used to express an action that is happening right now, similar to the English present continuous ("I am eating", "She is studying").

It answers the question: What are you doing right now?

Example: "Sto mangiando." (I am eating.)

Formation of the Gerund

The gerund is formed by adding specific endings to the verb stem:

  • Verbs ending in -are: replace -are with -ando → parlare → parlando (speaking)
  • Verbs ending in -ere: replace -ere with -endo → leggere → leggendo (reading)
  • Verbs ending in -ire: replace -ire with -endo → dormire → dormendo (sleeping)

Some Irregular Gerunds:

  • fare → facendo (doing)
  • dire → dicendo (saying)
  • bere → bevendo (drinking)
  • tradurre → traducendo (translating)

Conjugation of Stare + Gerund

Subject Stare (present) Example with gerund
Io (I) sto Sto parlando. (I am speaking.)
Tu (You) stai Stai leggendo. (You are reading.)
Lui/Lei (He/She) sta Sta dormendo. (He/She is sleeping.)
Noi (We) stiamo Stiamo scrivendo. (We are writing.)
Voi (You all) state State guardando. (You are watching.)
Loro (They) stanno Stanno mangiando. (They are eating.)

Stare + gerund vs. Simple Present

Stare + gerund = action happening right now.

Example: "Sto studiando adesso." (I am studying right now.)

Simple present = can express habits or general truths.

Example: "Studio italiano ogni giorno." (I study Italian every day.)

So: Sto studiando (I am studying right now) is different from Studio (I study in general).

Examples of Stare + Gerund

  • Io sto cucinando la cena. (I am cooking dinner.)
  • Tu stai guardando la TV. (You are watching TV.)
  • Lei sta parlando con un amico. (She is talking with a friend.)
  • Noi stiamo viaggiando in Italia. (We are travelling in Italy.)
  • Voi state lavorando molto. (You are working a lot.)
  • Loro stanno aspettando l'autobus. (They are waiting for the bus.)

More Examples with Irregular Gerunds:

  • Sto facendo i compiti. (I am doing homework.)
  • Stai dicendo la verità. (You are telling the truth.)
  • Lui sta bevendo acqua. (He is drinking water.)
  • Noi stiamo traducendo il testo. (We are translating the text.)

Exercises - Stare + Gerund

1. Translate into Italian using stare + gerund:

  1. I am eating pizza.
  2. She is studying Italian.
  3. We are reading a book.
  4. They are drinking coffee.

2. Complete with the correct form of stare:

  1. Io ___ parlando.
  2. Voi ___ leggendo.
  3. Lui ___ dormendo.
  4. Noi ___ scrivendo.

3. Create two sentences of your own with stare + gerund:

Study Tip: Practice these structures by creating simple dialogues that include both questions and descriptions of ongoing actions. This will help you internalize the concepts better!