Learn Italian: Stai spazzando il salotto? - Are you sweeping the living room?

While spazzi il salotto? can mean both 'do you sweep the living room?' and 'are you sweeping the living room?', using stai spazzando makes it crystal clear that you are asking about an action happening right at this very moment. This is the present progressive tense, formed with the verb stare (here, stai for 'you') and the gerund form of the main verb (spazzando).

How is the word spazzando formed?

It comes from the verb spazzare, which means 'to sweep'. To make the equivalent of an '-ing' word (called the gerund) for verbs that end in -are, you drop the -are and add -ando. If the verb ended in -ere or -ire, you would add -endo instead.

Is spazzando related to the Italian word for garbage?

Yes! The infinitive verb spazzare means 'to sweep', and la spazzatura is the Italian word for garbage, trash, or sweepings. Grouping these related words together is a great way to remember your vocabulary.

Is il salotto the only word for living room?