¿Qué haces? What do you do? What are you doing?

The present tense is basically the same in English as it is in Spanish. It's used to describe things that are always true or happen on a regular basis. I'm an engineer. I work in the city. I take the subway to get to work. To refer to an action in progress - happening now or around now - you have to use the present continuous form of the verb. In Spanish, however, it is possible to use either the simple or the continuous form in this case. So the next time you see a stranger looking through your desk drawers you should not ask him: "What do you do?" The simple form is also used to talk about the future. Whatever happens, don't forget to call me when you arrive. If we had written this sentence in Spanish the first and last verbs would have been in the subjunctive. :wink: