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Questions & Answers about Почему ты опаздываешь?
What does Почему mean?
Почему is the Russian word for “why,” used to ask for a reason or cause.
What is опаздываешь?
Опаздываешь is the second-person singular, present-tense, imperfective form of опаздывать, which means “to be late.” Together it means “you are being late” or simply “you’re late.”
Why is the verb in the present tense here?
Because the speaker is asking about something happening right now or habitually. If you wanted to ask “Why were you late?” you’d use the past-tense perfective почему ты опоздал?
What’s the difference between опаздывать (imperfective) and опоздать (perfective)?
• Опаздывать (imperfective) describes an ongoing or habitual action: “to be late” (I keep being late, I’m late right now).
• Опоздать (perfective) describes a single completed event: “to have been late” or “to end up late.”
Why is ты included here? Isn’t the ending –ешь enough to tell who is late?