ademoglu
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2014
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Turkish
- Home Country
- Turkey
- Current Location
- Turkey
Hi,
As is seen on the page (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/What+do+you+say?), 'What do you say' has more than one meaning (1. Inf. Hello, how are you? 2. Lit. What is your answer or decision? 3. Lit. an expression urging a child to say Thank you or please). So I'd like to ask if we can use it when we don't understand what a person says or has just said, for example:
Friend: Beckett's 'Waiting For Godot' tells the story of two men who are ,in vain, waiting for someone named Godot, who will never arrive.
Me: (I cannot catch what he says) What do you say? / What are you saying?
I gather that they could sound OK but it is better to say 'what did (just) you say?' or something like that.
Thanks.
As is seen on the page (http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/What+do+you+say?), 'What do you say' has more than one meaning (1. Inf. Hello, how are you? 2. Lit. What is your answer or decision? 3. Lit. an expression urging a child to say Thank you or please). So I'd like to ask if we can use it when we don't understand what a person says or has just said, for example:
Friend: Beckett's 'Waiting For Godot' tells the story of two men who are ,in vain, waiting for someone named Godot, who will never arrive.
Me: (I cannot catch what he says) What do you say? / What are you saying?
I gather that they could sound OK but it is better to say 'what did (just) you say?' or something like that.
Thanks.