what are you talking about vs What you're talking about

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'What are you talking about?' is a complete question in present simple tense, while 'What you're talking about?' is a fragment that can be part of a sentence or a response. The first one is more commonly used in everyday conversations.

Last updated: March 05, 2025 • 262 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"what are you talking about"

This is a complete question in present simple tense used to ask someone to clarify what they are discussing.

Examples:

What are you talking about? I don't understand.
Can you explain what you're talking about?
I'm not sure what you're talking about.
Tell me what you're talking about.
What are you talking about is unclear to me.

Show examples from the web [+]

Nov 26, 2017 ... And I know I can just remove "the hell" and go for "what are you talking about?", but it's too simple compared to what I initially wanted to ...

Alternatives:

What are you discussing?
What are you referring to?
What is the topic of your conversation?
What is the subject you are discussing?
What are you chatting about?

This phrase is correct and can be used as part of a sentence or a response.

"What you're talking about"

This fragment can be used in a sentence to refer to the topic of conversation or to ask someone to clarify what they are discussing.

Examples:

I understand what you're talking about.
Tell me what you're talking about.
Can you explain what you're talking about?
I'm not sure what you're talking about.
Do you know what you're talking about?

Show examples from the web [+]

Literally no idea what you're talking about.
I know what you're talking about.
What you're talking about - we agreed we were not there yet.
What you're talking about. I know.
No idea what you're talking about.
What you're talking about is literally suicide.
What you're talking about, well...
What you're talking about has nothing to do with reality.
What you're talking about is impossible.
What you're talking about doing is not defense.
What you're talking about is a whole paradigm shift.
What you're talking about is just wish fulfillment.
What you're talking about isn't a job.
What you're talking about Risa, was an accident.
What you're talking about is a suicide mission.
What you're talking about is chemical, temporary, illegal and almost certainly harmful.
What you're talking about is combinatorial game theory. Heuristic learning.
What you're talking about is genocide.
What you're talking about is a different beast.
What you're talking about is something between 20 and 30 million metric tons of wild creatures that are taken from the ocean and used and ground up.

Alternatives:

What you're discussing
What you're referring to
The topic you're talking about
The subject you're discussing
The matter you're discussing

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what are you talking about vs What you're talking about