¿Por qué andas tocando el pomo de esa puerta si no es tu piso?

to be

Breakdown of ¿Por qué andas tocando el pomo de esa puerta si no es tu piso?

• tú: you
• de: of
• tu: your

Questions & Answers about ¿Por qué andas tocando el pomo de esa puerta si no es tu piso?

Why is andas tocando used instead of the more obvious estás tocando?

Andar + gerund is a common colloquial structure in Spanish. It often suggests that someone is going around doing something, and it can carry a nuance of annoyance, suspicion, or criticism.

So:

• ¿Por qué estás tocando el pomo...? = more neutral, simply Why are you touching the doorknob...?
• ¿Por qué andas tocando el pomo...? = more like Why are you going around messing with the doorknob...?

In this sentence, andas tocando makes the speaker sound more reproachful.

What person is andas, and why is there no tú?

Andas is the 2nd person singular of andar in the present tense, so it means you walk / you go around / you are... depending on context.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb form already shows who the subject is.

So:

• ¿Por qué andas tocando...? = normal
• ¿Por qué tú andas tocando...? = possible, but more emphatic or contrastive

Adding tú would usually sound like the speaker is stressing you in particular.

Why is it por qué as two words with an accent?