Faccio ricerca su un progetto.

I do research on a project.

Breakdown of Faccio ricerca su un progetto.

• io: I
• su: on
• fare: to do
• il progetto: the project

Questions & Answers about Faccio ricerca su un progetto.

Why is faccio used here instead of sto facendo or another tense?

In Italian the simple present (faccio) often covers both English “I do” and “I am doing.” Saying Faccio ricerca is a perfectly normal way to express “I do/do research.” If you want to stress the ongoing nature of the action, you can indeed say Sto facendo ricerca su un progetto, but it’s not required.

Why is there no article before ricerca? Shouldn’t it be una ricerca?

Here ricerca is an uncountable (mass) noun meaning “research” in general, so you drop the article: fare ricerca = “to do research.” If instead you mean “a specific research study,” you’d say faccio una ricerca su un progetto.

Could I use the verb ricerco instead of faccio ricerca?

While ricercare exists, it’s rather formal or literary. In everyday Italian you’ll almost always hear fare ricerca or sto ricercando. So stick with faccio ricerca for “I do research.”

Why is the preposition su used before un progetto? What does it mean here?

Su corresponds to “on/about.” Ricerca su un progetto literally means “research on a project.” If you meant “research in the context of” you might also hear lavoro di ricerca sul progetto or sto lavorando su un progetto (“I’m working on a project”).