“做什么”常见的英文表达有 “What are you doing?” 或 “What do you do?”,不过两者在语义和用法上有一定区别:
含义:询问对方当下正在进行的动作或活动,强调此时此刻正在发生的事情。
例句:
What are you doing? I'm trying to finish my homework.(你在做什么?我正在努力完成我的作业。)
When I called him, he asked, "What are you doing?"(我给他打电话时,他问:“你在做什么?”)
含义:通常用于询问对方的工作、职业或日常主要活动,更侧重于了解对方长期、常规所做的事情。
例句:
When I meet someone new, I often ask, "What do you do?"(当我结识新朋友时,我经常会问:“你是做什么工作的?”)
She asked me what I did for a living, which means "What do you do?"(她问我靠什么谋生,意思就是“你是做什么工作的?”)