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De que falas?

De que falas?
What are you talking about?
From Lesson 125:Perguntas com preposição (De quem...?)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about De que falas?

Why does the sentence start with De? In English, we put 'about' at the end.
In Portuguese, you cannot end a sentence with a preposition like de (of/about). If a verb requires a preposition, it must come before the question word. Since the phrase is falar de (to talk about), the de moves to the beginning, making it literally 'About what you talk?'.
Does falas mean 'you talk' or 'you are talking'?
It can mean both! In Portuguese, the simple present tense (falas) is frequently used to describe what is happening right now. While you could use the continuous form (estás a falar), the simple present is perfectly natural and common for 'you are talking' in this context.
Why is it que instead of o que for 'what'?
When a short preposition like de, em, or com comes right before 'what' in a question, you usually drop the o and just use que. That is why we say De que falas? instead of using o que.
Could I use sobre instead of de to say 'about'?
Yes, you can! Both falar de and falar sobre mean 'to talk about'. If you used sobre, you would keep the o and say Sobre o que falas?. Using de is just a very common, quick way to express this in everyday conversation.

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