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Please imagine someone's father is going bankrupt because of a big change in country's currency value and all the family members are worried and very anxious and in this situation the family son has stretched on the sofa at home. The family daughter (his sister) sees him in that situation and wonders. She wants to ask him if he is worried at all or it doesn't make any difference for him. She begins in the way I mentioned below.

I would appreciate it if both of the following sentences sounds natural to be asked in such a situation?

1- Why do you stretch yourself out on the sofa?

2- Why have you stretched yourself out on the sofa?

For me, both work properly and mean the same with a subtle semantic nuance.

3 Answers 3

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What the daughter is basically asking is

You idiot, how can you be so relaxed when the world is falling apart?

"She wants to ask him if he is worried at all or it doesn't make any difference for him", she would say to him

How can you be stretched out on the sofa at a time like this??

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  • I agree, asking about being stretched out on the sofa by itself (as the OP did in the originals) does not connote any sense of urgency or stress at all. +1 for adding "at a time like this" – a construct like that one is needed to convey what the OP seems to be trying to express.
    – J.R.
    Jan 3, 2017 at 9:19
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Why do you stretch yourself out on the sofa?

This sounds more like the person is used to stretching on the sofa often, more like a habit.

Why have you stretched yourself out on the sofa?

This is a direct question pertaining to that instance in time. Whether the person in question is having a habit of doing it is not part of this question.

Clearly, the second one sounds more natural to me in the situation you quoted.

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    you stretched yourself - yourself here is redundant. Jan 3, 2017 at 7:29
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I would say:

Why are you yourself stretched out on the sofa?"

You are describing a constant state (from the view of your narrative) so using to be is enough.

And "yourself" is unnecessary as you already said "you" (other than for emphasis).

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